On The Backs Of Pigeons
by Stargategeek
Summary: Nikola comes back to the Old City Sanctuary seeking help from Helen, but he doesn't know that he's about to change the lives of all living in the sanctuary very soon. Has officially gone AU
1. Chapter 1  He's Back

**On the Backs of Pigeons**

**Chapter 1 – He's Back**

_**On the backs of pigeons you'll fly away…**_

_**~~~~Dream~~~~**_

_The man stood by the big willow tree by the small pond in the park. It was the end of summer, beginning of fall, and the leaves were slowly starting to cascade down to the ground._

_The man stood silently._

_In one hand was a small loaf of stale bread, which he crumbled up with his other hand and gently dropped to the ground for the small group of pigeons collected at his feet._

"_Do the pigeons talk to you?"_

_**~~~~Present~~~~**_

Nikola Tesla woke up with a start and rubbed his tired face with his calloused hand.

It had been awhile since he lost his Vampirism and he still wasn't used to the concept of sleep, let alone dreams.

He hasn't slept since the latter half of the 19th century, henceforth he hasn't dreamt, save for the occasional daylight fantasy, or the times he would zone out during really boring speeches or annoying people trying to start up a conversation with him; and with the Vampirism he hadn't the need for sleep, or rest, or food, or anything else so draining. He was miles ahead of every other scientist because he didn't have to stop, or shut his brain off; he was always working.

Now, instead of loathing his fellow colleagues, he pitied them; Edison, Marconi, they were so un-evolved it was almost sad. Now he was no better, except for his human-magnet thing, but that was no match to Sanguine Vampiris.

Nikola swung his legs over the bed and stood up on the cheap carpet floor of his hotel room. He walked over to the balcony door, a cheap sliding glass door, no less; he couldn't afford the standards he was privy to.

He stepped out on to the balcony into the fresh night air. It had been raining earlier, but it had stopped sometime in the middle of the night and all that was left was that clean earthy smell. He breathed it in.

He had traveled a bit, keeping himself under-radar as always, going here and there, never staying very long, and very rarely being seen.

Somehow, like always, he found himself back in Old City. Back to see her. He always came back for her, he always had, and he probably always would until the day his fragile human body frayed away into nothing. It was his curse.

He turned and went back inside; the paranoid side of him telling him it was not a good idea to stand out there for too long. He closed the glass door behind him and sat at the cheap IKEA table.

He eyed the small duffle bag he always carried with him on his travels. He sat there staring at it for a while before finally reaching in and pulling out a piece of paper; not the cheap printer paper made from recyclable biodegradable green party crap that the whole world deemed the norm.

He took out an inkwell and pen. A gift _she _gave him at Oxford long ago, a birthday present, something he carried around with him with the gentlest of care.

Dipping the pen in the inkwell he proceeded to write his letter…

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary - Main Office – Tuesday September 9th - 8:32 a.m.~~~~**_

Helen Magnus sat at her desk early Tuesday morning, checking over the day's itinerary and making her mental schedule for the day.

She read the report on the new abnormal they had obtained a few days ago, and it's stabilization in its new habitat. It was truly a fascinating find. The creature had a chameleon like ability mixed with the appearance of a small wild cat, and a strange craving for Bubble Gum. A docile creature mostly, but if threatened or frightened it defended itself by biting it's attacker with a nearly fatal, paralyzing bite.

Helen looked up from the report when she heard Big Guy come in with her usual tea and scone breakfast; what Will called 'very British'.

"Good morning, you're just in time, I'm nearly famished," she smiled brightly at Big Guy who grunted in a knowing response and placed the tray in front of her. "Thank you," she patted his arm and he grunted again, reaching for something in his belt.

"This came for you," he held out a small letter with beautiful handwritten calligraphy on it. It was strangely familiar.

"Oh, who from?" she asked tentatively.

Big Guy grunted and shrugged.

"Don't know. I found it with the newspaper," he grunted and bobbed his head in dismissal. "Will that be all?" he looked at her and then jerked his head in the direction of the door.

"Yes, that will be fine for now."

He nodded and left as Will came walking in.

"Hey Magnus, enjoying your morning tea while reading the newspaper?" he came in and sat in his usual chair across from her, leaning back in it casually.

"No, I got a letter this morning," she lifted up the still unopened letter.

"Whose it from?" he leaned closer to get a better look at it.

"I don't know, there is no return address on it, but I have a sneaking suspicion…"

She trailed off and proceeded to open the unsealed letter, her eyes dancing over the handwritten words, before rolling upwards in a knowing expression.

"Just as I thought, I should've known…" she sighs audibly.

"What?" Will quirks his eyebrow slightly sitting up, suddenly a little intrigued in the mystery letter.

"The only man in the whole world who stills sends handwritten letters to me with about the same obnoxious snark and flirtatious nature as he has."

She handed Will the letter, and he sighed as he read it. He looked up.

Sure enough, the last line of the letter, unsigned of course, in the handwritten letters, and right below the 'With Love', was the most dead give-away phrase for this particular sender…

'_P.S. You Still Look Hot.'_

Will handed the later back to her.

"Don't tell me…" he started.

"I'm afraid so," she finished.

They both let out an audible sigh at the same time.

Nikola Tesla was back.


	2. Chapter 2 A Decent Proposition

**Chapter 2 – A Decent Proposition**

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

Nikola stood out front of the Old City Sanctuary. He fixed his appearance slightly before knocking on the heavy oak door. He ran a finger along the fine grooves of the wood while waiting.

The sun was beating down that fine fall day, and he almost regretted wearing so much, but presenting himself being dressed any less than to the nines, especially to his beloved Helen Magnus, would just be poor taste on his part.

So he stood there, suit and cravat and all, in the blazing sun, leaves falling all around him, waiting for someone to open the freaking door before he had a heat stroke.

The door finally opened to the hideous creature Magnus called a manservant, Big Goon, or whatever his name was.

"Guh guh! What're you doing here?" grunted Big Guy at the sight of the ex-vamp.

"Oh come on, is that any way to treat an old friend?" Nikola smirked cheekily.

"Guh guh! You are not my friend."

Nikola put on a mock sad face at the remark.

"Oh Hairy, I'm hurt!"

Big Guy grunted in annoyance and rolled his eyes before shutting the massive door on the obnoxious man.

"No wait! Hey!" Nikola grumbled and slammed his fists on the door erratically. "It's 90 degrees out here!"

He huffed and crossed his arms in annoyance.

The door suddenly opened again after a few minutes, but instead of the hairy butler, Nikola was greeted with the bright smile and sparkling eyes that is Helen Magnus.

"Nikola," she let out a breathy sigh and he gave her his most charming smile.

"Helen," he stepped closer to her.

"I got your letter," she stepped back to let him into the Sanctuary building.

"Of course you did, you always get my messages, that wasn't my concern," he stepped into the air-conditioned foyer.

Helen let out an audible sigh. Vampire or not, Nikola, was Nikola.

"My main concern was how'd you react when I arrived, coming to meet me at the door is definitely a sign in my favor."

Helen shook her head, already getting annoyed with his flirtatious antics.

"What do you want Nikola?" she huffed out, letting out an exasperated breath of air.

"Straight to the point as always, one of your most endearing qualities, my dear. Ok, I'll spare you the chitchat and get right down to it. I've found myself in dire straights, not so much in the area of being hunted, but financially. I've seemed to have run myself out of funds, wine and decent accommodations don't come cheap, and my, um, well, condition, hinders my, ehhh, lets just say willingness to use my usual methods for procuring more."

"You mean stealing," Helen shook her head slightly at him, trying not to roll her eyes.

"Let's call it opportunistic borrowing…anyways, I'm running low and I need your help."

"You want me to give you money so you can waste it all on your drinking habits and expensive tastes, the Sanctuary is not a charity Nikola."

"I don't want your money, I'm asking for sanctuary, Helen. No one else will take me in, and when the hounds come sniffing around for me again, I won't be able to protect myself like I used to, you are my only hope Helen," he held her hand gently and stared into her bright eyes.

"Your serious aren't you?" Helen looked back into his grey-blues.

"I wouldn't come to you if I weren't, I'd get on my knees but this suit is Italian, and I don't trust your hairy manservant with a mop."

Helen chuckled slightly.

"Fine, but you'll have to pull your own weight around here, that means lending your expertise when needed…" Helen glared hardly at him and he glared back, "…and staying away from my finest vintages."

"Oh heartbreak,' Nikola clasped a hand over his heart in exaggeration.

"I mean it, I'll keep a decent stock for your consumption, but there will be no draining of my wine cellar again!"

Nikola put on a fake pout, which failed and turned into one of his classic smirks.

"You drive a hard bargain Doc, but I guess I'll have to agree with your terms."

Nikola held out a hand for her to shake. She stared at it for a moment in distrust, but she relented and slipped her hand tentatively into his.

No sooner than her hand had came into contact with his then had he pulled her to him, their lips colliding into each other, his lips twisted into one of the most devilish of smirks.

Her hands came fluttering up to his chest and rested for a second before she managed enough will-force to shove the incorrigible ex-vamp a safe distance away from her.

"Damn you Nikola!" she blurted out and smacked his chest with the palm of her hand.

He jumped at the hit but just grinned even wider.

"You can't blame a human-magnet for trying," his voice chuckled at her as his breathing steadied.

She glared at him for a second before inhaling and exhaling to calm herself and stepping back so he couldn't try that again.

"I'll have Big Guy set up a room for you," she breathed and turned from him to return to her office.

"Oh he doesn't have to do that, I'll just pick one myself," Nikola shrugged nonchalantly.

"No, you won't," she laughed slightly clenching her teeth.

"Oh why not! Can't I at least pick the view?" he followed her, sauntering in that cheeky walk that made him seem even smugger than he already was.

"No!" she kept walking not wanting to look at him right now.

"Why?" he smirked, still keeping a steady pace behind her.

"Because I don't want you any where near my room!" with that she entered the elevator and closed the door before he could enter in and annoy her some more.

Nikola stood at the elevator doors and laughed. He was not here five minutes and he was already having so much fun. Maybe he should go pay a visit to Tiny Tim.

Helen made it to her office and sat down at her desk and tried to get the image of that flirtatious creep out of her head.

Another stolen kiss like the one they had in Rome. Each one she shoved away immediately, but she couldn't deny the butterflies they seemed to stir up in her stomach. He was sometimes so aggravating, and so charming at the same time; it made her want to hit him. Now he was going to be staying, for a non-prescribed amount of time. She'd have to endure _that _every day!

She let out another audible sigh and clicked at her computer and brought up the computer link with Henry.

"Hey Doc, what's up?" said Henry in his grizzly sleepy voice; he must've just dragged himself out of bed and to his lair downstairs.

"It's Nikola…" Helen skipped the usual pleasantries.

"Oh crap, what'd he do this time?" Henry sighed and rubbed his face.

"He's moved in," said Helen touching her hand to her forehead, trying to get over how weird that sounded.

"Haha very funny Doc, you had me going, real funny, no seriously, what's he done?"

Helen gave him a look and his smile dropped instantly.

"No, no, no! No Doc! Tell me it's not true! No!"

Helen sighed.

"I wish I could Henry, but I'm afraid so, I'm holding a meeting to make it official, tell Kate, Will, and the Big Guy, I want you all in my office in 20 minutes."

She turned off the link and groaned face palming.

With one swift motion, Nikola had flipped her whole Sanctuary upside-down, and it had twisted her life into one big obnoxious grinning knot!


	3. Chapter 3 Plotting & Compromise

**Chapter 3 – Plotting & Compromise**

_**~~~~Helen's Office~~~~**_

Helen sighed as her team stared at her in bewilderment. Will's face was plastered with shock and disbelief, Kate had her arms crossed and eyebrows quirked and Big Guy grunted loudly in disgust.

Helen got up from her desk.

"I know this is sudden."

"Your damn right it's sudden!" Will flailed his arms before resting them on his hips.

"Look he sent a letter, and he's requested sanctuary, it's sanctuary for all, not sanctuary for all but the horribly obnoxious ex-vamp," Helen, for the first time in her career wished the Sanctuary had a criteria for acceptance.

"Yah but Doc, he's a sneaky bastard, he's always has a hidden agenda, you know that more than anyone," Kate protested.

"I know that, but I also know him, he seemed sincere," Helen shrugged.

"Guh guh! I don't like him!" growled Big Guy.

"Looks it's only temporary, I'll keep him on his best behavior, he promises to help around," Helen tried to give them a pleading look.

Henry walked in grumbling under his breath.

"Helen! I want him gone!" Henry went up to Helen his face all flustered. "He's so arrogant and annoying and he calls me Tiny Tim, that nickname doesn't even make any sense! I hate him! Send him away!"

Helen chuckled at the child like persona Henry was displaying.

"I can't, not yet, he's requested my help I can't turn him down! It's poor manners, and he is an old friend."

"Can't or won't!" cried Henry.

"What?" Helen stood aghast at what the young werewolf just blurted.

"We all know you and Vlad have this love/hate relationship going on, and you're a sucker for a dude in distress!" Henry clenched his teeth.

Helen tried not to blush at the statement.

"That is not the case, he is an old friend in need, that is all, if he causes too many problems I'll see what I can do, but for now you'll just have to suck it up like the rest of us," Helen straightened up and looked at all of them. "That goes for all of you too."

They all let out a simultaneous groan.

"Come on guys, we've had more annoying abnormals living here than Nikola Tesla," Helen smiled weakly at the gang.

"Really? Name three," Will rolled his eyes.

"Well, there was that Talking Fly we had here while the Tokyo Sanctuary was rebuilding itself," Helen pointed out nonchalantly.

"I'd take talking bug over arrogant human-magnet/ex-vamp any day," Kate still glared back at Helen.

"Well at least Nikola doesn't hit on you, he calls you the children, that can't be annoying as the Bug trying to tell you how sexy your ass his while buzzing in your ear, or forcing you to get him lemonade, or calling you spiky haired nerd all the time," Helen huffed at her team.

"Wanna bet? At least the bug is easy to swat away," Kate still had her arms crossed.

"Look you are all acting like adolescents, Nikola is staying till further notice, either learn to deal with it or work extra hard, but we all have to endure unpleasant experiences. I gave him my word, and that's something I don't back out on, no matter how annoying he is! Now, I suggest you all get back to work," Helen sat back down at her desk closing the matter.

She was about to get on with reading the daily reports when she heard _'Clap, clap, clap.'_

She closed her eyes and hoped that wasn't who she thought it was.

"Nice speech Helen, may I just say that I am touched by the warm reception; I haven't even been here an hour and you're already plotting to get rid of me, that truly has to be a record on my part," Nikola leaned in the doorway, his piercing blue-grey eyes glaring at everyone in the room. "You know, if you didn't want me to stay you could've just said so."

"And then what? Have you guilt trip me about abandoning you to the cruel world?" she glared at him as he sauntered over and leaned over her desk.

"Admit it Helen, you could never turn me away, we have too much of a history together," he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she seethed.

"We are friends, but that doesn't excuse how much of an ass you are."

He chuckled dryly.

"Look, my dear Helen, I promise to be on my best behavior, I won't treat the hairy one like a slave, or expect him to look after me, and I won't condescend the little ones, I'll play nice, all I ask is for a bed to sleep in, a lab to work in, and wine to drink, you won't even know I'm here," he raises his hands in surrender.

"You promise? I won't take any of your crap Nikola, so if you are anything but sincere I'll kick you out on your ass now," Helen stood up to match him eye to eye.

"I promise Helen, I would never break a promise to you, you know that," Nikola stood just as strongly at her.

Helen saw the sincerity in his eyes and relented.

"Alright, that's settled."

Helen sat back down and watched as her team left her office like a bunch of sulking teenagers who weren't allowed to go to a rock concert, except for Nikola who just stood there and smirked his aggravatingly charming smile at her.

"Was there something else you wanted?" Helen impatiently looked up at him.

"Nope…just admiring how sexy you look when you're flustered," his eyes seemed to laugh when he talked.

Helen grabbed the nearest item – a stapler – and chucked it in his direction.

"Get out!" she chuckled at him and she once again rolled her eyes. She'd done it so much that day she was afraid her eyes would roll right out of their sockets.

He managed to dodge the stapler and eyed her.

"Fine, I'll leave you for now, I have some stuff in my lab to do."

"Wait, what lab have you deemed yours?" Helen glared at him.

"Don't worry, I gave Tiny Tim his space, I've just made my station in the east tower, it has the ideal parameters for the experiment I'm working on, I hope you don't mind."

Helen sighed.

"Fine, just don't use any of the residents for test subjects."

"Aww take all the fun out of it," Nikola pouted jokingly before chuckling and leaving her office.

He strode down the hallway all the way to his makeshift lab…it was very Dr. Frankenstein, he enjoyed the feel of it. It was stone and candles; one of the few places in the Sanctuary that had not been renovated in recent years. It was well maintained, but still held a piece of the old American architecture of the original building before it was converted to the safe house for monsters and mermen alike.

It reminded him of the dormitories at Oxford he had lived in. All the weird late-night experiments he and a certain beautiful blonde woman did by candlelight, before the Five, before the source blood, and before John Druitt. Just two friends sharing in a desire to push the boundaries of science, defying all social convention, and risking the judgment of others and what they thought of an unmarried woman spending late evenings in a dorm with a man who was not her betrothed.

Helen didn't care, and neither did he.

She had already defied the previous social conventions by demanding acceptance into the University, and fighting for that right, and though she was smart and beautiful enough to become close friends with anyone in that school, she chose him, and that was something he never forgot.

Nikola opened the heavy door and walked into the bare study.

Some empty bookshelves, a small couch and few tables…yes this would work perfectly.


	4. Chapter 4 Drunken Confessions

**Chapter 4 – Drunken Confessions**

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

It had been just over a week since Nikola had moved in to the Sanctuary. Helen had been pleasantly surprised. He had, so far, kept his promise; the week had flown by without incident.

On occasion she had forgotten he was there. He had mostly kept to himself in his little lab. The first few days he had ordered some simple items for his lab, and he had been seen coming in and out of the wine cellar, but other than that rarely any sign of the usually omnipresent man.

Helen had found herself feeling mixed between relief and concern. Relief that none of her staff were trying to kill him in his sleep, concern because whatever he was doing had him acting like a virtual recluse.

A reclusive Nikola Tesla was never a good Nikola Tesla. Reclusive Nikola Tesla did stupid things like try to revive an extinct race, or steal things from bad people. A human reclusive Nikola could be just capable and desperate enough to do more.

Helen got up from her desk and walked to the East Tower, finally convinced to find out what her new resident was up to.

She walked up the stone steps. She couldn't help but smile; this was so Nikola; a little creepy, but comforting all at the same time.

It was late evening, most of the other residents had quieted down for the night, and her staff had been fed and went into their own little activities for the evening.

Helen carried a tray with her unsure if Nikola had emerged from his cave; as it had been deemed by Henry and Will out of jest.

She knocked on the door, when she got no answer she blew caution to the wind and entered into the room.

She nearly gasped at the sight before her.

The nearly tediously tidy man had papers strewn all over the place, and even more wine bottles abandoned empty on the floor.

He had tests running on the computer, what looked like vials of blood in the centrifuge.

Helen placed the tray on the table and looked down at everything. Papers with formulas, and scribblings, mostly chicken scratch handwriting but she recognized 2 words. _Sanguine Vampiris._

She looked over to the corner of the room where a small sofa lay, and lying on top of it, curled into a fetal position, and snoring lightly, was the man himself.

Helen walked over softly, making sure not to knock over any wine bottles. It had been a long time since she'd seen him sleep; she'd almost forgotten what it looked like.

She knelt down and stroked his hair gently.

He looked so fragile when sleeping, like a child, it was heartwarming.

She leant over to pull the blanket over him more.

"_Do the pigeons talk to you?"_

He suddenly jolted awake and had grabbed her hand tightly. Helen gasped, unsure of what would happen.

"H-helen…" he looked at her with blood shot eyes, brimming with moisture.

Her heart nearly broke at the sight.

"Oh Nikola…what have you done to yourself?" Helen stroked his trembling cheek.

"Ummm…I-I- don't know…"

"You're human Nikola, you get drunk now. Did you forget?"

He leaned into the palm of her hand slightly.

"No…I wanted to sleep…and I couldn't sleep…alcohol makes me sleepy…"

He muttered and gave her a look reminiscent of a young child being scolded for doing something wrong.

"You could've asked for something, I am a doctor Nikola, I have stuff for problems like this…"

She cupped his face with both hands.

"D-didn't wan-want you to know…"

Helen bit her lip. It was killing her inside to see the great Nikola Tesla reduced to this.

"Nikola, why were you trying to make yourself a vampire again?"

He moved away from her suddenly and tried to get up but stumbled to the ground.

"Nikola!"

She ran to him and tried to help him up but he just shook her off and whimpered pathetically. He got up into a crunched position and whimpered again. She felt helpless in this situation; an annoying Nikola she could handle, but a drunken one was a whole other ball field.

"Ohhh Helen…why did you never love me?"

She blinked in surprise at the question.

"Nikola, you're drunk, you need rest, let me help you."

"No!" he moved away from her and looked at her with his piercingly blue-grey bloodshot eyes. "Why Helen?"

She sat there at a loss for words.

"I-I wou-would've given you everything! More than that stupid lunatic Druitt! Yo-you were everything to me! How could you not have seen it? I loved you from the first moment I met you, an-and you went and fell in love with him!"

He got up staggering heavily.

"Then I became who I truly was! An-and you cared for me, looked after me, but I was still nothing to you! I've always been nothing to you! Why Helen, why?"

Helen sat there dumbfounded at the man.

"Did you not see or did you not care?"

He whimpered sadly again and held his arm close as he spoke/

He staggered over to her and collapsed on his knees in front of her.

"Why couldn't you have loved me Helen?"

Helen tried to move her lips but no sound came out, nothing came out.

He whimpered again and leaned over letting his head and hands fall onto her knees as he sobbed and whimpered.

Helen finally managed to get her brain working again and wrapped an arm around his form. She bit back her own tears as she held him. It hit like a brick to know she had caused him this much turmoil, this much sadness. She had always seen it as this game that he played with her, but she saw it now. The stolen kisses, the looks, the confession in the catacombs in Rome, why he had come back, everything.

"I-I've always loved you Nikola, I just never understood, till now, how you felt," she stroked his hair gently as she gently pulled his face up to hers.

"You've been trying to tell me for years haven't you?"

She cupped his face with her hands again.

"Well I'm going to look after you again, like I did all those years ago, I promise."

Helen gently brought his head near to hers and leaned in to give him the gentlest of kisses.

He sighed slightly when she pulled away.

"Come with me," she said standing up and pulling him along gently.

"O-ok…" he muttered

She took his hand and led him out of the lab; she'll have Big Guy clean it in the morning, right now, all she cared about was the man holding on to her for dear life.

"Wh-where are we going?"

"You're going to stay in my room tonight."

Helen gently pulled him down the stairwell, blowing out the candles on the way down.


	5. Chapter 5  Weird Awakenings

**Chapter 5 – Weird Awakenings**

_**~~~~Helen's Room, Old City~~~~**_

"_Do the pigeons talk to you?"_

Nikola started awake and his hands clutched a fistful of sheets till his knuckles turned white. He breathed heavily and exhaled sharply as he sat up and rubbed his face; his head throbbed like someone was continuingly trying to drive a stake through his skull.

He groaned before blinking his eyes in confusion.

This was not his room.

He looked around through partially squinted eyes; how much did he drink last night, and what did he do?

He turned his head in the direction of the bathroom where he heard the shower running. He looked down at himself; he was dressed in boxers and a shirt that displayed the emblem of a hockey team on it.

He looked around the room and saw a familiar picture frame of a little blonde girl smiling widely at the camera; right beside it was another picture significantly older, containing a group of five.

Nikola's jaw dropped.

_Oh my lord…I did Helen Magnus__._

He sat there dumbfounded then turned back to the bathroom grabbing a bobbie pin off the dresser on his way.

_**~~~~Master Bathroom~~~~**_

The hot water dropped off of Helen's nose to the tiled surface below as she showered. Helen always enjoyed the feeling of water, especially when heated perfectly. She was a traveler at heart but as soon as she came home she would soak herself for hours at a time in a luxurious bubble bath; it was a weakness of hers.

She sighed; it was so easy to forget her troubles in the cascade of water.

She suddenly tensed when she heard a click. She reached to the little built-in bench in the huge shower where her towel, bathrobe, and 9mm were resting.

She grabbed the gun carefully and cocked it walking silently along the wet tiled floor.

She went to the sliding shower door and opened it a crack to peek out of it. She saw a flash of grey in the mirror reflection and moved to aim the gun straight-

"Nikola!" Helen growled at the smirking ex-vamp leaning slightly on the bathroom counter. "How did you- I locked the door! Do you have any concept of common decency?"

She looked down at herself and squeaked slightly jumping back behind the shower door.

"Get out!" she cried grabbing her towel and wrapping it around herself.

"Well I don't see what's the problem, I woke up in your bed, I just assumed…"

Helen rolled her eyes and stepped past him to the bedroom to dress herself; Nikola followed.

"Oh Nikola, once again you manage to twist the most innocent situations to suit your own depraved sense of romance."

"What's to twisted? I woke up in your bed, with a hangover, I remember the drinking part, I don't remember you, I deserve an explanation same as any other man. I didn't do anything I'll regret not remembering, did I?"

Helen sighed.

"No, I brought you in here last night to keep an eye on you, you are one depressing drunk, did you know that?"

Nikola stiffened slightly.

"I, uh, didn't do something embarrassing did I?"

Helen froze slightly remembering the confrontation last night.

"Except for making a mess of your lab, no…"

Helen looked away and finished changing.

"Oh good, wouldn't want to have made a fool of myself…I forget sometimes that wine inebriates me now," Nikola sat on the bed and rubbed his sore head.

"You know, it's not so bad…being mor-"

"Don't say it…"

She sighed again.

"There are some good aspects about humanity," she sat beside him and put a comforting arm around him. He leaned slightly into the embrace.

"Like what?" he muttered and crossed his arms.

"Well…they may not live forever, but they make something of what time they do have. You and me have grown ignorant to that fact because of our immortality, you have a second chance to explore that, while I'll live on…"

Helen looked down sadly for a moment, the thought creating a knot in her stomach. The fact that Nikola would move on without her, leaving her truly alone; the fact that everyone will keep aging except her was like a punch to the gut. Even Big Guy had a deadline in life.

Before it was different, she always knew that when everyone was gone she'd at least have her pain-in-the-ass Vampire to come and remind her that they have been through thick and thin together. Now, he wouldn't.

"That's just depressing," muttered Nikola again.

"Yah…" sighed Helen.

Nikola stood up and smirked suddenly.

"I do have one question though," he said, Helen quirked an eyebrow in response.

"What?" Helen tried not to roll her eyes at his mischievous grin.

"Did you take off all my clothes by yourself, or did I help?" he smirked smugly.

"Oh get out," she tossed a pillow in his direction. "Seriously, you're incorrigible."

"Yes but you care for me," he smirked even more.

Helen's jaw moved up and down wordlessly and then closed, her eyes fixed to his in an annoyed glare.

He stepped closer - still grinning - and leaned dangerously close to her, placing his hand on either side of her, his head hovering slightly above hers.

"My, my, have I rendered the infamous Doctor Helen Magnus speechless?" his eyes twinkled in their little laughter.

"No, I'm just shocked at the level of your depravity."

He chuckled sarcastically.

"Ohh nice comeback, did you come up with that yourself?"

"Yes as a matter of fact."

Helen rolled her eyes and grabbed the sides of his head and brought his lips to hers in a kiss.

He squeaked in surprise but quickly kissed back. Helen wrapped her arms around him and flipped him over on the bed and pulled away.

She stood up and straightened herself, watching Nikola breathe heavily, still in shock.

"Don't look too much into it, I just needed a way to shut you up…it was payback for earlier," she turned around and walked out trying to get herself to the elevator as fast as she could before Nikola could see her blush.

She got into the elevator and shut the door. When it closed without incident she exhaled and ran her hands across her face.

That was too close…

_**~~~~Back in Helen's Room~~~~**_

Nikola still sat on the bed in utter shock.

He blinked a couple of times looking at the spot Helen had just vacated.

He had expected her to do a lot of things but he had not expected her to do that. Not that he was completely objected to it, it just didn't make any sense. Unless…

His lips curled into a devilish grin and he sprung up and walked out of the room to his quarters. His suit from the other night already cleaned and folded on his bed. Nikola shirked himself of the primitive sleepwear Helen had put him in and dressed into his suit.

Suddenly he heard a bleep and looked around for the source. He found a walkie-talkie on the bedside table. He picked it up and examined it before pressing the button tentatively.

"Hello?"

"Nikola! Come down to my office, please!" came Helen's voice from the device.

"Helen? Miss me already?" he smirked.

"I'm serious Nikola, I need your help, get your ass down here!" she growled and he just smirked wider.

"I'll be right there, my love."

He straightened his suit jacket and brushed the imaginary dust off the shoulder before strutting down the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6 A New Friend

**Chapter 6 – A New Friend**

_**~~~~Downtown Old City~~~~**_

Helen and her team, including Nikola, sneaked down an alleyway in downtown Old City.

They were on the search for an abnormal in this area that was causing a lot of electrical damage to the power lines and light systems, it nearly caused a 9 car pile-up on Mainstreet, and if the recent electrical discharges in this area were any indication, they were close to the creature.

"I don't see why I'm here," said Nikola casually, strutting behind the team like he was going on a lovely mid-day stroll.

"The creature emits an EM pulse that shorts out any electrical device within 20 ft, it could cause irreparable damage to the city if we don't catch it…and you can attract it with your ability…that's why you're here," Helen's eyes kept on alert while talking, they darted from side to side and examined the whole alleyway.

"So, I'm bait, that's wonderful, put the frail human-magnet in the line of fire," he pouted and kept walking behind them.

"No, you're insurance…if you can hold on to the creature with your magnetism, keep him from running away, it'll be a much easier operation, so stop sulking and keep on alert!"

He sighed and looked around him vaguely disinterested.

They heard a loud rumbling further down and Kate and Henry ran on point to the source.

"Do you see it?" yells Helen to the two of them.

"No sign Doc…damn this thing is fast!" said Henry.

"Or it's just-WHAAA!"

Helen turned around to see Nikola gone.

"Nikola!" she called his name and looked all over for the man.

"Where'd he go?" asked Will in confusion, his eyes darting all over for any signs or clues.

"Doc, my scans detect a small electric discharge 2 cliques from here," Henry pointed in the direction and started jogging off towards it.

_**~~~~Abandoned Warehouse~~~~**_

_"Do the pigeons…talk?"_

Nikola groaned as he regained consciousness and brought a hand up to his head and felt a wet patch at the base. He pulled his hand back and saw blood smeared across. He couldn't remember the last time he bled and didn't heal right away; it was unnerving.

He groaned and sat up; he felt his forehead sting a bit…another gash; it started bleeding slightly into his eye and he wiped it away looking around.

He was lying on the floor of an abandoned warehouse…down by the wharf most likely, due to the heavy algae and fish smell.

Nikola stiffened when he felt warm air brush past the back of his neck.

He turned around and saw the creature.

He jumped back and held out his hands to keep the creature at bay.

"Whoa there…um…fellow, don't eat me, I don't think I'll sit well."

He looked at the creature. It was black with huge green, cat-like eyes, and massive paws; it was like a huge black kitty with wings.

It was sitting up on its haunches and looked at Nikola with curiosity, not hunger, or fear.

Nikola kept his hands up in case it did attack.

"A-are you going to eat me?"

_**~~~~Alleyway~~~~**_

Helen finally caught up with her team; they were looking at a broken neon sign.

"It's definitely recent…but by how this thing moves, who knows how far it's gone by now," Henry took pictures of the sign and picked up a shard of the glass.

"Well, lets hope we don't find pieces of masticated ex-vamp on the side of the road," Kate said in her usual manner.

"Please Kate, now's not the time," the thought of finding half of Nikola's torso lying in the street actually made Helen feel sick.

"We should split up, Magnus and I will keep going down this way, Henry, you and Kate will head back to the van and cover the streets by vehicle," said Will.

"Agreed," Helen nodded at her two staff members and they ran off.

Helen looked at Will with concern.

"Don't worry, vampire or not Nikola won't go down without a fight, he's probably talked the thing out of it."

Helen chuckled nervously and nodded at her progeny.

"Let's hope so…"

She checked her weapon before running down the street.

_**~~~~Abandoned Warehouse~~~~**_

Nikola and the creature stood staring intently at each other, neither of them moving. Nikola's blue-grey eyes were locked with the creatures green ones.

Nikola suddenly connected with his magnetism and tried to push the creature away carefully.

The creature didn't budge.

"What do you want from me?" Nikola blurted out at the creature. "If you're not going to eat me, and you aren't going to kill me, then what? Are you lonely? Did you want company for your noon- day tea? Am I being held hostage? Am I being saved for a rainy day? GAH! I'm talking to an overgrown cat!"

Nikola jumped when suddenly he felt the soft leathery skin of the creature's head underneath his fingertips. It was nuzzling him, like a pet to its owner would.

Nikola stood there dumbstruck at the creature's actions.

"It's the magnetism, of course, Helen wasn't kidding when you said you'd be attracted to it, I just thought I'd have to feed you first."

He smirked petting the creature lightly.

"You think I'm one of you, don't you? Just a little uglier, right?" he chuckled slightly. "I guess even the most dangerous creatures get lonely…I forgot that I'm not the only one who's alone in this world. Well, I should get back to Helen, and you should go somewhere different, someplace warm and very primitive…where you won't break anything!"

Nikola snickered and straightened up and was about to head out of the warehouse when the creature nudged his backside to get his attention.

"What?" Nikola huffed.

It whined a bit and followed him.

"Seriously Sparky, you don't want to come home with me, they'll put you in a cage and get hair all over your best Italian suit, it's no place for you, it's no place for me either, but I have my reasons." He looked down a little sadly. "We all have the places we need to be, and you need to be far away from here!"

Nikola walked to the door but the creature kept following him.

"I don't want to take you home with me! I hate pets! I used a cat once to see if my death ray was effective…I think I'm allergic to dogs even! Your much better out in the wild."

Nikola kept walking but the creature just kept following.

"Do you not understand the meaning of NO! I don't want you!"

Nikola turned to face the creature but was tackled to the ground and licked repeatedly on the face.

_**~~~~A few meters away~~~~**_

Helen suddenly turned her head in the direction of a distress call…well more of a grunt sound…but she swore she recognized the voice attached to the cry.

She picked up speed and readied her gun for whatever lay beyond.

She turned the corner, Will right behind her.

Nikola came into view with the EM-creature pinning him to the ground, licking him silly.

"Ack! Stop it! I don't do animal affection! Ick! Get off!" Nikola squirmed under the creature.

"Oh Nikola, you have such a way with animals," smirked Helen lowering her gun.

The creature perks up and snarls at the intrusion.

"No, no! Sparky! Uhhh…sit!" Nikola stands up and raised his hands up defensively before the creature knocked Helen and Will off their feet.

He looked over at Nikola then hesitantly planted his butt on the ground.

Nikola smiled in a small child-like glee and looked at Helen.

"Yes very impressive, now tell your new friend to come on a little trip with you," Helen quirked an eyebrow at Nikola and rested her hands on her hips.

"Told you to get out while you could," Nikola mumbled to the creature.

"Just do it!" Helen bit her lip and turned around calling Henry and Kate to their location.

"Fine," he stuck his tongue out at her when her back is turned, Sparky did the same and Will tries not to laugh at how ridiculous it looked.

Helen turned around and caught the two of them with their tongues hanging out.

"Will you stop lollygagging around?" she barked and they retracted their tongues almost simultaneously.

"See that Sparky, no inner child…" Sparky bobbed his head as if he were nodding.

The van arrived a few minutes later and they all hobble into it, Sparky sitting right at Nikola's feet nuzzling them.

Helen smiled at Nikola.

"I see you've made a new friend," she chuckled.

"Yah…" he winced rubbing his head.

"Are you okay?" Helen's smile drops.

"I think so…Sparky here just played a bit too roughly."

He showed her the gash at the back of his head.

"Oh my god, Nikola! Are you dizzy, light-headed?" Helen took out her penlight to examine the wound better.

"Helen, you'd think I'd know by now the symptoms of a concussion, and if I were experiencing them I'd have told you already," Nikola sighed.

"You never know, you're always trying to play hero," Helen smiled slightly, finding that the wound was superficial, a few stitches and he'd be right as rain.

"I'll fix it when we get back to the Sanctuary," she sat back and looked at him.

"It's not necess-"

"Nonsense! Face it Nikola you can't talk yourself out of this one, I'll have my team drug you and drag you to the infirmary if I have to," Helen gave him her authoritative glare.

"Oh yes, knock out the guy keeping the EM-emitting creature calm, that's smart," Nikola retorted sarcastically.

"That's exactly why your cooperation in this matter would be preferred," Helen didn't falter and just matched his bluff.

"Fine, but I do have work to do, so don't make a day spa out of it," he grumbled, realizing he wasn't going to win this one.

"That wasn't my intention," Helen shook her head.

She broke her gaze from him and looked out the front window.

She heard the creature - or Sparky, as Nikola had dubbed him - make a purring sound against Nikola's legs and she couldn't help but smile. Nikola always had a way with animals, especially those pigeons in the park by the University.

Helen smiled softly at Nikola, and he smiled softly back.

They rode all the way back to the Sanctuary in companionable silence.

_**~~~~Author's Notes~~~~**_

If you think Sparky seems a little familiar, he was based after the character of Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon. He isn't a dragon, he is what he is, but the look is the same, just smaller wings and such, but hopefully that will give a better understanding about what the character is supposed to look and act like.


	7. Chapter 7 Sober Confessions

**Chapter 7 – Sober Confessions**

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

"Ow!"

"Hold still, I'm almost done."

"Ow!"

"Will you stop fidgeting?"

"Ow!"

"It will hurt a lot less if you stop moving."

"I'm sorry if I didn't read the Masochist How-To Manual before coming down here, I didn't think I'd need it," Nikola winced, he didn't remember injuries hurting this much. "Your just as bad as your father!"

Helen sighed and kept stitching the wound at the back of his head.

"You should've taken the Ibuprofen I offered you," Helen groaned as he flinched again.

"Well I was a little busy at the time making sure your goons didn't hurt Sparky, I couldn't just let them tranq him, I had to figure away to inject it into his food, feed him and make sure they didn't cage him, unless you want your whole sanctuary system to explode, and I don't know about you but I doubt Tiny Tim would enjoy it," Nikola grumbled and winced again.

"And I appreciate that, but that doesn't help me right now," Helen finally got the last stitch in, tied it and cut the excess putting down her tools and letting out one last sigh.

"There, now you can go, but keep yourself from getting into any more danger, you don't heal as easily," Helen peeled off her gloves.

"I am painfully aware of that, literally, is it possible to get a rain-check on the painkillers now," he looked up at her.

"Fine, sit there and I'll get them for you," she went to the other side of the room and opened the door to the medicine cabinet, her back to him.

Nikola's mouth curled into his devilish smirk, his legs swinging childlishly over the edge of the infirmary bed. He hopped off the bed and quietly walked up behind her, so close that they were just touching. She hadn't noticed him yet, fully engrossed in searching through the cabinet. He smirked and ran a hand up her thigh.

She jumped in surprise and spun around furiously.

"Nikola!" she barked.

He smirked wider.

"Do you have nothing better to do than sneak up on me?" she huffed and smacked his chest making him step back from her.

"Oh Helen, don't pretend with me anymore, I know that kiss in your room earlier was more than just a snog to shut me up, though good cover up by the way. I felt electricity, and so did you," he stepped back to her.

"You always feel electricity," Helen teased.

"Oh but this was natural electricity, the type you only feel when two people are so attracted to each other they can barely help it," he smirked and quirked an eyebrow at her.

Helen stared back into his eyes, remembering what he had said to her in his drunkenness. He had admitted to her in Rome of his affections, and last night he had confessed them whole-heartedly to her. Helen wondered if this was how Nikola had been trying to tell her all along. Had it always been blatant flirting, or was it a secret cry for her affections in return? She couldn't tell anymore, and it was making their little game even harder and harder to play.

"Do you love me?" she said before she could take it back.

"What?" Nikola blinked confusedly.

"In Rome you said you loved me, was that a lie, or do you still hold the same affections?" she looked into his eyes for the answer, all she saw was a soft sadness.

"I-I did…I do…but you've made it obvious about how you feel about me," he turned away, making space between them.

Helen knew it instantly, like it had been there the whole century or so they've known each other, looking back she could see it was so obvious. This look, a mix between hurt and heartbreak, anger and longing; he had given her the same expression, the same eyes, when she told him of her engagement to John. He had given it to her when she told him she was going to have Ashley by herself; in the catacombs in Rome when he told her he loved her, and last night when he let a little of himself reach out to her.

The words _"Why couldn't you have loved me Helen?"_ rang in her ears like church bells.

"I haven't said anything on the matter," Helen stepped to him and turned his face to hers, "You've never asked."

She stroked his cheek lightly, and he leaned into the touch, similar to his movements the night before, like he'd been craving the contact from her.

"Do you-" he started but she cut him off by kissing him, gently at first, but he kissed back quickly and the kiss grew in passion.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him and she let her hands creep into his hair.

Helen broke the kiss, sucking in breaths of air.

"Yes Nikola…"she breathed, her hands resting on his chest, "…I do, I have for awhile now, I was just afraid of you being insincere."

"How could I been anything but brutally honest with you?" Helen gave him a funny look, recalling several times he had kept the truth from her. "About this I mean," Nikola corrected and smiled at her.

For the first time that smile didn't make her want to roll her eyes at him, instead she gripped his shirt and pulled him forward, crushing their lips together.

They fell back against the cabinet and Nikola pinned her with his body.

Helen broke the kiss again.

"Nikola, we shouldn't do this here, what if we're caught," Helen put her hands flat against Nikola's chest.

"Do you want me to put a tie on he doorknob?" Nikola remarked cheekily.

"No, I want to do this properly, I want you to take me to dinner before you and your skilled hands get into even more trouble than you're worth," Helen smirked at him.

"Well, I've waited over a century, I guess I can wait the two hours to take you to a nice restaurant and movie, unless you'd rather go bowling," Nikola sighed and pouted slightly.

"Please, if my father was here you'd have to take me on at least 3 before I even considered letting you in the house, count your blessings," Helen poked him in the chest, "So I'll see you at 8 then; sharp?"

"Of course my lady," Nikola bowed dramatically.

"Good, now go check on your cling-on!" Helen pointed to the door and Nikola grinned before walking out.

"His name is Sparky!" shouted Nikola while sauntering away.

_**~~~~Lab~~~~**_

"Do you think the Doc has the hots for Vlad?" Henry looked at Will who was using a handheld scanner to scan Sparky.

"What do you mean?" Will looked up.

"I mean, they've known each other for a long-time, he makes no pretense on how he feels for her, and she seems to be flirting back with him a little, it makes sense, not that I approve or anything," Henry inputted the data from the scanner into the database under filename 'Sparky'.

"It's Magnus, she likes weird men, just look at her track record," Will said matter-of-factly.

"Well there was Jack the Ripper, but she liked him before that, and we really shouldn't count Olaf, he's kind of a Yugoslavian douche."

"I don't think he was from Yugoslavia, Hen-…"

"Then there was this one guy down in Puerto Rico, who tried to brainwash her into being his Harem girl, he was fat…and ugly…luckily Ashley managed to burst in and kick his flabby white behind…good times," Henry continued, smiling at the recollection.

Will eyed Henry.

"Really, Magnus as a Harem girl, I can't picture that."

"Me neither."

"Though the little Princess Leia bikini number was a nice touch…"

Both Will and Henry froze at the voice and turned around to see Nikola leaning in the doorway.

"How much did you hear?" asked Henry.

"Enough to know, Tiny Tim, that you two really need girlfriends," Nikola walked in and smirked at the both of them, walking straight to Sparky. "How's my boy doing?"

"We just finished the scan, he's clean, as long as he's calm he can't short fuse any of our tech," said Will walking up alongside Nikola.

"Ok, have the hairy one bring him up to my lab, get one of those huge, fluffy, dog cushions, some water, and drug-free food, he should remain sedated for awhile, right?"

Nikola looked at the boys.

"Uhh…for a few hours, yes," said Henry.

"Well, keep an eye on him and page me when he wakes, alright! Nice doing business with you two," Nikola turned to leave.

"Wait!" said Will stopping the man in his tracks. "You said that you saw Helen dressed as a Harem girl, were you there?"

"Yes, I helped rescue her, not that she remembers, she was a little loopy off the brainwashing, but how else was a 16 year old little Ashley going to get to Puerto Rico to save her Mummy?" Nikola said sardonically, looking at the two guys.

"But Helen said she hadn't heard from you in 60 years when she was in Rome," said Will.

"Yes, but as I said, it was Ashley who contacted me for help, under another name of course. I told her that I was an old friend of her mothers staying in Puerto Rico, and that I could help. I left my name out of it, as should you two…" Nikolas spun around and walked out.

"I never know what to believe with that guy," Henry shook his head and looked back at Will.

"Me neither."


	8. Chapter 8 Dinner For Two

**Chapter 8 – Dinner for Two**

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

Nikola sneaked into the kitchen, keeping an eye out for the hairy man-beast that kept leaving fur on his clothes.

He opened the massive fridge and pulled out some of the items, he pulled out pots and pans and seasonings and started cooking; checking back ever-so-often to make sure that he wasn't caught.

He had plans, plans that needed to be made by 8.

Helen wanted a date, so she was going to get the best fricking date she'd ever seen!

Unfortunately for Nikola, he was alone in this operation, except for Sparky, who had woken up not too long ago and was watching the door.

Nikola knew that the team wasn't going to exactly go with him on this venture, they didn't want him to be here period, but to potentially _be_ with the boss; they would kill him before that, especially Big Guy.

So Nikola, Sparky, and some very sneaky parlor tricks keeping the staff busy at the other end of the Sanctuary - the Mermaid may have helped a little with that…he's going to have to send her a gift…whatever her name was -

Sparky walked in and sat down staring at Nikola.

"What? Is someone coming?"

Sparky shook his head.

"Well keep watching the door, if you see anything big, fat and hairy, tackle it and lick it to death, there will be a big fat fish with your name on it in the end," Nikola stirred something in one of the pots.

Sparky whined.

"You saw the fish! I put it in your bowl at the start, don't give me that tone!"

Sparky whimpered.

"Look this is very important Sparky, the outcome of this evening could mean something I've been waiting a very long time for, and you are the only one who can help me."

Sparky makes a sighing sound then goes back outside.

"Just for that, I'll make it two big fish!"

Nikola smiled and went back to his cooking.

_**~~~~Helen's Office~~~~**_

Helen spent the whole day with butterflies in her stomach. She could barely concentrate on her work; she kept making mental plans on what she would wear and with what shoes, and how she should put her hair. It was driving her crazy.

Nikola should not be able to revert her to this teenage state. It was like when Ashley was on her first date, except she couldn't scream at her mother for help, Helen had to suffer in silence.

Helen finally dropped her paperwork, threw caution to the wind and went to her room to luxuriate in a nice hot bath.

**~~6:30~~**

Nikola had the kitchen in a flurry, he had things on heat, things on ice, things to be cut, things to be diced.

He kept running from fridge to freezer, from cupboard to pantry; left, right, north, south, up, down, and all over trying to get everything ready.

_**~~~~Master Bathroom~~~~**_

Helen had just relaxed in the bubbly hot water when her walkie-talkie went off.

"Hey Doc, Big Guy and I have some business downtown, is that ok?" came Henry's voice.

"Yes, fine, becareful."

"Always Doc!"

The device bleeped off and she went back to relaxing.

_**~~~~Kitchen~~~~**_

Sparky burst in letting out a loud squeal.

"What do you mean he's coming?"

Sparky squealed again.

"Well we can't just run! The food will burn!"

Sparky squeaked and moaned.

"Hide? Just go tackle him, or get him to pet you, I'll think of something!"

Sparky let out an exasperated growl and headed back out.

Nikola checked on all his dishes, pacing while stirring the ingredients of a sauce together.

**~~6:50~~**

Helen drained the tub and wrapped her towel around herself and put on some music as she exited the bathroom.

She sat on the bed and did her nails.

_**~~~~Kitchen~~~~**_

Nikola kept cooking until he heard a scream, or two screams as it were.

"AHG!"

"AHH!"

Nikola went to the door and peeked his head out and saw that Sparky had tackled, not Big Guy, but Two-Faced Guy.

"Sparky! Get off him! He's not the one!"

Sparky groans in confusion.

"Well granted he is big and hairy and not all that good-looking…"

"Hey!"

"HEY!"

"…But he's not the one we need to worry about."

"What they hell are you doing?" asked the normal face.

"Yeah! We were just hungry!" barked the other face.

"I'm sorry, my compatriot mistook you for Helen's hairy manservant," Nikola glared at Sparky who lowered his head and scampered away.

"You mean Big Guy? He and Henry went downtown like 5 minutes ago, that's why we came here, so we could get a snack without losing a limb," said the normal face.

"Join the club."

**~~7:30~~**

Helen had taken her time to diligently curl and pin her dark hair, and have it just the way she wanted it. With 30 minutes to go, and knowing how punctual Nikola is, she needed all the time she could get to be ready.

_**~~~~Kitchen~~~~**_

Nikola finished the dishes and had them warming up on hot plates, or cooling down in coolers. Now all he needed to do was get ready.

He had enlisted the help of Two-Face to help finish with his plans, and with specific instructions sent him and Sparky to complete what was needed for tonight. Nikola had just enough time to shower, change his suit, and flowers…damn he'd forgotten to get flowers…

Nikola ran down to the garden to Big Guy's flowerbeds. It was truly beautiful, something worth an article in Home & Gardens for sure, but not today.

Nikola took out his pocketknife and cut off some of the beautiful red roses, two for the table one for the lady.

Nikola booked it from the garden, knowing how punctual Helen is; he needed to act fast.

**~~8:00~~**

Nikola arrived at Helen's door promptly at 8:00, smoothing down his suit, and double-checking that the rose was absolutely perfect before knocking on the door.

The door opened to reveal Helen in an elegant black dress that came down to just above her knee, with a light blue cardigan overtop.

Nikola was speechless at how beautiful she looked.

"Right on time, as usual," Helen smiled at him.

Nikola blinked his brain back into functionality and he took her hand gently and kissed it offering her the rose.

"I'm never late," he smirked.

"Of course not," Helen took the rose and smelled it. "It's lovely Nikola, thank you."

"Shall we go?" He offered her his arm.

"Yes, where are we going?"

Helen reached behind her and grabbed her purse before accepting Nikola's arm.

"Just this secluded little place I know, I'm sure you'll like it."

Nikola took out a blindfold and handed it to her.

Helen eyed him weirdly but put the blindfold on anyways.

He led her into the elevator, and from the elevator up some stairs to the top of the tower.

He smirked.

"Ok, we're here."

Helen chuckled as he started to undo the blindfold.

"We're here, that's not possible we haven't-"

Helen's sentence fell flat as she saw what he had done to the rooftop.

Christmas lights and candles lit the little table for two in the middle. A bottle of wine in an ice bucket sat on one side, two roses in a tiny glass vase in the middle, everything was perfect. Even down to Two-Face wearing a suit acting as headwaiter; it was perfect.

Helen looked at Nikola.

"You did all this?" She smiled at him.

"Yes…"

"H-hmm!" coughed Two-Face and Sparky.

"They helped…" he added lamely.

Helen smiled even wider and allowed him to seat her.

"Tonight our special is…"started Two-Face, lifting up the plates of food Nikola had made from Sparky's back and putting them in front of Helen and Nikola.

Helen didn't hear a word.

_**~~~~Downstairs~~~~**_

Big Guy and Henry walked through the halls. They had just gotten back, and were very tired.

"Alright Big Guy, I'm off to get some shut eye, or at least a few minutes of shut eye," mumbled Henry and he parted from Big Guy to where his room was located.

Big Guy grunted and shared in his friend's sentiment, but wanted to double-check on his stations first. See that everything was in its right place before he left it for the night to go watch Operation Paranormal.

His first stop was naturally…the kitchen. He liked keeping it clean and tidy, almost to the point that no one was allowed in there without his express permission.

He walked in and nearly swallowed his Guh.

It was in complete disarray. Pots, pans, cutlery, flour, everything was everywhere. It was like the scene in Jumanji with the monkeys…but where were the monkeys, and better yet, who was the monkey that caused all this!

Big Guy growled.

"Who was in MY KITCHEN?"

_**~~~~Rooftop~~~~**_

Helen sighed in happy content. It had been a simply perfect evening. The food was delicious, the night was beautiful, no crowds, no walkie-talkies, just her and Nikola on the roof.

She smiled.

"This was lovely, Nikola, really, I'm very impressed you went through all this, just to show me a good time," Nikola looked back at her and smirked.

"Helen, the nights not over yet!" Nikola looked over to Sparky and Two-Face. "Hit it boys."

Helen chuckled at Nikola's cheesy line, and laughed even more when soft music filled the night air.

"A dance, my lady?" Nikola stood up and offered Helen his hand, which she took with a smile.

"I'd love to," Helen stood up and gently fell into step in Nikola's arms.

"It's so beautiful," sniffled Two-Face. "I hate it," grumbled his less sentimental side.

Sparky sigehd happily and pushed the sniffling pair to the door, knowing that Nikola no longer needed their assistance.

Nikola and Helen danced slowly underneath the blanket of stars.

Helen sighed against Nikola's shoulder.

"So Helen, is this arguably the best date you've ever had?" Helen could practically feel his smile against her cheek.

"It's definitely one of the top 5," Helen laughed audibly.

"You crush my soul," said Nikola overdramatically, Helen just laughed more.

"It was really wonderful Nikola, that's all that matters to me, you put more heart into this date, than any rich man with a really fascinating personal library ever could," Helen chuckled again.

"So that's my competition? Well I'm obviously winning," Nikola stated matter-of-factly.

"You are, are you?" Helen quirked an eyebrow at him playfully.

"Well I'm the one dancing with you, aren't I?" Nikola spun her around lightly and caught her in his arms again effortlessly.

"Very true," Helen leaned up and pecked his cheek, which froze his feet almost instantly.

He stared for a moment into her eyes before bowing his head to hers and meeting their lips together in a soft kiss.

His hands came up to gently clasp hers as they kissed, and they swayed again to the music.

Suddenly a thunderclap burst out of the sky and a sudden sheet of rain came pouring down on them.

"Ah! The only thing I couldn't control," smirked Nikola.

Helen laughed and kissed him again throwing her arms around his neck and letting the rain pour endlessly on top of them. Drenching them.

They were completely soaked when they pulled back for air.

Nikola grabbed her hand.

"Lets get inside before I catch my death of pneumonia," he chuckled and pulled her inside the door, she twirled, feeling like a kid again and fell against his chest. His lips descended on to her neck, and he peeled the wet cardigan off her shoulders.

"Nikola…" she sighed and leant against him.

She spun around and kissed him harder than before, the passion rising gently between them.

"Come with me," she took his hand and led him down the stairs.


	9. Chapter 9 The Beginning of the End

**Chapter 9 – The Beginning of the End**

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

"Do the pigeons talk to you?"

_"Only when I let them…"_

Nikola opened his eyes to the bright sunshine creaking through the drapes.

He blinked the blindness from his eyes and his eyes adjusted to the change quickly. He couldn't remember, for the moment, where he was until he heard a soft, sleepy groan from beside him, and the weight it was anchoring his right arm with.

He looked over and saw a mass of bed sheets, dark curls, and bare skin, and the memories flooded back to him like water breaking through a dam.

The perfect combination of skin on skin and heart against heart, her hands entangled in his, and his lips over ever inch of her curves.

His mouth broke out into another one of his classic, mischievous, boyish smiles.

He rolled over and wrapped his arm around the warm body beside him.

He nestled his face in the crook of her neck and kissed it lightly.

She sighed happily and rolled over to look at him.

"Good morning," she smiled at him, stretching.

"You know, this is the second time in a row I've woken up in your bed, I'm starting to think you planned this," he smiled back and kept his arms snugly around her.

Helen laughed lightly and gave Nikola a sweet little kiss.

"And good morning to you too," she chuckled.

"You do realize that you can't talk your way out of this one, you can't trick me into believing that what we did last night wasn't, you know," he lightly ran two fingers along her bare shoulder.

"Don't worry, I had no intention of tricking you," Helen smirked and looped an arm around his neck bringing him close for a passionate kiss.

_**~~~~Kitchen~~~~**_

Will walked into the kitchen and saw Big Guy grumbling over a pile of dirty dishes.

"Oh my…Big Buy, what happened in here?" he came up to the grouchy beast.

"Guh Guh! Some one was in my kitchen!" he growled.

"Well that part is obvious, but what did they do?" he looked around in disgust.

"Guh! Made a mess!" he growled even louder.

"Do you know who?"

"Guh Guh! No!"

"Well this is a disaster area!" Will exclaimed.

"Guh guh! Really? I hadn't noticed!" grumbled Big Guy.

"Look, I'll help, tell me what I need to do, sweep? Mop? Wash? Dry?"

"Guh! Just get out of my kitchen," he turned back to the dishes he was washing and Will sighed and raised his hands in defeat, but picked up a wet rag and helped anyways.

_**~~~~Tech Room~~~~**_

Henry snoozed lightly on the keyboard of his main computer, having been dog tired the night before but being dragged out of bed to help Big Guy and only to just crawl back into bed to have his alarm go off two hours later.

No way Magnus would give him a day off, no matter how tired he was, he kept everything running, but nothing was stopping him from falling asleep at the helm.

He shocked awake when he heard a bleep.

It was from his computer calendar, an alert for something important.

He clicked it and read the data.

_SANC NET. CONFERENCE. ITALY.__ MAGNUS._

_FLIGHT SCHED. 1:30 p.m._

_TODAY_

Henry jumped into action.

He'd completely forgotten about the Italy Conference.

It's an occasion scheduled every two years, all Sanctuary Heads and important people tied to the Network attended, and it was always held in Rome, has been since the mid-nineties.

Last year the conference had been interrupted by the appearance of a certain then-vamp, who dragged Magnus from the lecture into the underground catacombs.

Henry picked up his walkie-talkie and contacted Magnus.

_**~~~~Helen's Room~~~~**_

Helen had herself wrapped around Nikola's lithe body, giggling at the really bad French accent he was trying to woo her with while kissing her neck. It made her think of Pepe Le Pew, a rather fitting metaphor for Nikola she thought, he always trying endlessly to garner the affections of the poor kitty.

She was laughing so hard at his bad grasp of the French language that she nearly missed the familiar sound of her walkie-talkie going off.

She pushed him off her a bit so she could reach it.

"Ehh, what is it mon cherie?" Nikola smirked at her.

She giggled again and put her fingers to his lips to shush him.

"Yes, this is Magnus," Helen said, trying to stifle her giggle when Nikola lightly kissed the fingers intended to shut him up.

"Hey Doc, it's Henry, just got a little reminder or your little trip to Rome, I hope you haven't forgotten," said Henry.

"Oh dear, the conference…I nearly have forgotten, thank you Henry, I'm sure you'll be able to make the proper arrangements," Helen noticed Nikola's puzzled face.

"No prob, Doc!" he signed off and she put the walkie-talkie down.

"Why do I get the feeling that this mornings activity is just about the get cut short," said Nikola, he leaned on his arm, looking at her.

"I'm sorry Nikola, I have to get ready, pack, and make arrangements, you'll just have to wait," Helen gathered up the sheets and wrapped them around herself while getting up and heading to her closet.

"I knew it, its always work before pleasure with you," he sighed.

"It's not that I have a choice, I'm the Head of the Network, I have to be there, you know that! I can't just call them and tell them I'm off to my Villa with Jacques Clouseau and my sun tan oil," Helen looked through her clothes while talking.

"Then don't, I'll come with you," Nikola came up to her clad only in boxers.

Helen scoffed at the idea.

"Really? How will I explain your presence there?" she shook her head and pulled her clothes off their hangers and threw them on the chair.

"I'm your bodyguard/escort making sure that no ones tries to harm you or take you in the night," he smirked deviously at her.

"Ooh that's good, they won't see through that one," she chuckled.

"Well, for your dignities sake, book me a flight, tell the children I'm coming because I'm bored and love Rome, get them to book another hotel for the night, once we get there we unbook it and spend the week sharing wine and bed sheets," Nikola wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder, kissing it lightly. "It will be half work, half sexy/romantic getaway, and I do love Rome."

Helen sighed and leaned into his embrace thinking over his proposition.

"You and me, for a whole week…like this…" she had to admit it did sound rather appealing.

"Well, preferably lying down, I don't have the stamina I once had, tough luck for you," she slapped him playfully.

"You're so cheeky," she stepped away from him. "Fine, you can come, but no insulting every other man at that conference, I know how virulent your jealousy can be."

"I can't help it that every other man in this world seems to want to sleep with the beautiful and elusive Helen Magnus, and those who don't, want to sleep with me, which is why we're such an undeniably sexy couple," Helen rolled her eyes and kissed him lightly.

"Just shut up and go pack," she shook her head and pushed him out of her way.

_**~~~~Helen's Office~~~~**_

"You want to what?" Helen's team seemed to burst out simultaneously.

"I said, I'm going to the Italy Conference and I'm taking Nikola with me," said Helen nonchalantly.

"But why Doc?" said Kate, crossing her arms.

"Because I want to keep an eye on him," Helen bluffed.

"What you think he's going to behave better in Rome?" exclaimed Will.

"He asked if he could go so I'm giving him the chance to prove himself," Helen looked at her staff.

"Yeah, or runaway and make more trouble than he's worth," Kate waved her hands frantically at Helen.

"Look it's 5 days, in a hotel, he's going to be with me through the whole thing, I don't see the problem," Helen neatly stacked the papers on her desk.

"Doc, you've seemed to have forgotten something, it's Nikola Tesla; the last time you two were in Rome together he tried to kill you! He's always up to something even when he says he's not, and he will risk anyone's life to get what he wants, it's safer for everyone if he stays here," said Will.

"I think this time it's different, you'll just have to trust me on this one guys," Helen picked up her wheeled carrier and looked at all of them. "Trust me, I can handle him."

She exited her office quickly, leaving the three of them in dumbstruck shock. She headed to the main foyer where Nikola was already waiting with Sparky.

"Oh, I'm sorry I have to leave you, but it's only for awhile, I promise, then I'll be back, just stay out of trouble and don't explode anything, ok," Nikola patted the top of Sparky's head, who whined sadly.

Nikola looked up at Helen.

"I think he's going to miss me a little," he smiled at her.

"You think that about everyone," she smiled back.

"Well they may not think it outright but I'll bet you anything they notice my presence when I'm gone," he smirked.

"Yes, but I wouldn't really categorize it as missing…" she looped her arm with his as they went out to the car and headed for the airport.


	10. Chapter 10 The Conference

**Chapter 10 – The Conference**

_**~~~~Rome, Italy~~~~**_

Nikola and Helen arrived in Rome, Italy around 10:30 that evening. The flight had been rather nice and uneventful; Nikola complained the whole way.

Helen's private charter leaving out the long wait and the customs check, and the annoying game of ring-around-the-rosie with the luggage conveyor; they were loaded into a rental car and chauffeured to the beautiful hotel, an old favorite of Helens.

The La Notte Piccione Hotel had been in service in Rome since the early 1900's, its architecture alone was stunning. The original building tracing back to the Ancient Roman era, though it's original purpose lost to time. It had magnificent stone masonry and design, with the beautiful stone nudes and gaping arches so inherent to the period, though Nikola would credit it to the ruling of his Sanguine Vampiris ancestors.

In his mind, such timeless beauty could not be achieved by humans alone, though he would also say the same thing about her.

They arrived at the hotel, her arm in his.

They entered into the magnificent foyer, brightly lit by chandeliers and the subtly hidden light fixtures along the walls. Though obviously renovated, it still held its original beauty, the new admissions barely noticeable next to the magnificent craftsmanship.

It always took her breath away.

"Ohh is Helen Magnus! Here again!" A tall, thin, complete with mustache Italian exclaimed and walked up to the couple.

"Amando, nice to see you again," Helen greeted him kindly, smiling at his exuberant joy at seeing her again.

"We look forward every year for your stay with us here at La Notte, e'cept this time you bring a man with you, it is first time!" He looked at Nikola and bowed lightly to him then fixing his attention back to Helen.

"Yes, Amando this is my friend Nikola, Nikola this is Amando Mamoliti," Helen introduced the two.

"Nice to meet you Nicole," said Amando shaking Nikola's hand fervently.

"We have both your rooms ready, I will have a concierge bring your luggage right away!" he shouted something in Italian at one of the young men standing by the elevator.

"Wait before you do that Aman. I know we booked two rooms, but could it be possible to, um, un-book one of them," her voice lowered slightly at the last sentence.

Amando's eyebrows rose, and his lips curled into a knowing smile.

"You mean he's?" he jerked his head towards Nikola.

"Yes," Helen tried not to blush.

Aman chuckled and said more in Italian.

"You want the usual room?" he flipped open the guest book.

"Preferably," she looked over at Nikola who was smirking deviously behind her.

"K-k," he shouted at the bellhops and they grab their luggage. He handed Helen the key and she smiled in thanks to him for not asking any more questions on the subject.

Nikola followed her into the elevator; the bellhops close behind with their luggage.

"What was that all about?" Nikola turned to her.

"What was what all about?" Helen tried not to look at him.

"That little scene down there between you and Alfredo, you guys shared a look," he just stared at her more.

"We've known each other for a long time," Helen shook off Nikola's grin.

"Yes, but that wasn't a look of friendship, that was a knowing look, as if I am not the first man you have brought up to your _usual _room."

Helen sighed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Nikola, I thought we agreed your jealousy wouldn't become an issue on this trip," she finally turned to glare at him back.

"You're right, I'm just nervous that's all, I can't help but be a little paranoid," he raised his hands, relenting, and dropping the interrogation act he was trying to pull.

"It doesn't matter who I've been with in the past, I'm with_ you_ now, that should be the only thing that counts," she took his hand gently.

"You're right, you're right, I'm just worried someone might take you away from me, now that I finally have you, I don't want it happening again," he sighed a little sadly.

"What do you mean? We were never together before."

Helen looked at him in confusion.

"Do you forget? All those years ago at Oxford, before The Five, me living in the dormitories, you, auditing my classes. Just the two of us, as scientists, running little experiments together, causing all kinds of trouble, before things became serious; before I became a vampire and you were aging just like the rest of us. Those glorious days of walking in the park, studying together under the huge oak trees. You were truly my best friend," Nikola stroked her hand absent-mindedly, "That is until…"

Helen stopped him.

"You were my best friend too, you were the only one there at the time who treated me like an equal, like I was one of the guys, not just the woman. I enjoyed your company."

"How could I not? You were much smarter than any of those dumbbells we had for classmates, they hated me because I was smarter, and you because you were pretty! Those chauvinistic pinheads saw you as nothing more than a female conquest, and you and I both know you were much more than that," Nikola smiled at her.

"Alright, alright, you've got me flattered," Helen laughed shoving him lightly, "Seriously Nikola, you are the most helplessly romantic man I know," she turned when the door dinged and opened.

"I can't help it, you bring out that side of me," he replied smugly and followed her to the main suite where they were staying.

"Just leave the bags over there," she said to the bellhops and she pulled out some bills to tip them.

They nodded their thanks then scurried out.

No sooner had the door shut then Nikola's lips had descended onto the curve of her neck, and his arms wrapping around her waist from behind, her back hugged up against his chest.

"Not now Nikola, we have to get ready, this is not the time for that…" Helen broke out of his arms, however reluctantly.

"Get ready for what? You don't give lectures till tomorrow afternoon," he sighed.

"Yes, but I told you on the plane that there is an evening gala tonight, a meet and greet over champagne and finger sandwiches, they planned it late due to our late arrival, and I have half an hour to get ready, so do you," she poked him in the chest.

"Oh, of course, black tie and gown event, if that doesn't play up to the high society air…" Nikola muttered removing his coat and vest. "Am I to assume that in one of these suitcases is a freshly pressed and neatly folded tux for me to dawn on for the night?"

"Third on the right," said Helen without even turning around.

She was busy doing a quick make-up and hair job, she didn't have time to properly groom herself for the occasion but she had become an expert at making a quick fix to a hazy mess, especially when coming to hair and eyeliner.

Nikola merely switched from one suit to the other, slapping a bit of cologne under his arms and neck, fixing a stray hair, then sighing in content, he always looked good.

He lounged on the bed as he waited for Helen to finish.

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

"It doesn't make any sense!" muttered Will; looking up from the document he was reading.

"What does?" said Henry sleepily, lifting his droopy eyes at Will.

"Magnus had no reason to bring him with her, what is she hiding?" Will ignored Henry.

"You're still stuck on that, look I don't like the ass either, but if the Doc says it's ok she must have a reason, she just didn't share it with us," shrugged Henry.

"But it doesn't make sense, he doesn't have his powers anymore so his job as a bodyguard would be more or less useless, and he is not helping her with a lecture, and he is not going down there to enjoy the local cuisine! I tell you Magnus is hiding something from us," Will crossed his arms.

"Maybe the Doc just wanted some company, she and him go way back it's not that hard to believe. Are you done with that file?"

"What? Are you saying the Doc and Tesla are…doing the horizontal tango?" Will raised his eyebrow at Henry.

"I don't know, ask the Doc, or better yet ask Tesla, I don't have a clue what the Doc does in her spare time, or who she does it with…I just want to go to bed, I haven't slept in days, just drop it, let me close up shop here so that I can crawl into my bed and sleep for a week."

Henry whined like a 5 year old and Will sighed.

"Fine, here." Will handed him the file and groaned in frustration. "It just doesn't make any sense!"

_**~~~~La Notte~~~~**_

_"…the pigeons talk to you?"_

_"Only when I let them…"_

Nikola opened his eyes, he must've dosed off a little, and just in time too.

He heard the bathroom door click and swung open.

He turned his head to see Helen, a stunning vision in white, step out looking as if she'd been at the spa all day.

Her hair pulled back and cascaded down her back in long elegant curls, with the slightest hint of a smokey-eye around her eyelids.

In a word, she was simply gorgeous, and almost effortlessly as well.

Nikola stood up from the bed and eyed her, taking in her beauty.

"My, my, Helen, you clean up nice," he smirked and leaned in slightly to kiss her.

"No, no, you are not going to ruin my make-up, you'll just have to be a good boy and wait," Helen smirked and stepped back.

"Oh you tease," he groaned out.

"You don't clean up bad yourself," she smiled and picked lightly at a piece of fluff on his shoulder.

He smiled smugly before offering her his arm and escorting her downstairs to the car.

_**~~~~Gala Event~~~~**_

The Gala was held in a beautiful ballroom, part of the hotel they held the conference in.

A live string band played lightly over the buzz of chatter and clinking of champagne glasses.

People introduced themselves, their colleagues, their friends, and their mutual acquaintances, to each other, shared a glass of brandy or bubbly with another, and then fell into conversation with everyone else.

The mingling, the flowy gowns, the dark suits, the maneuvering waiters, the band, the food, the chatter, it was all as boring as death.

Nikola hated these functions, like proms and weddings; it was just an excuse for people to show off; either their wealth, or their looks. It was a boiling pot of hypocrisy; people pretending to be nice when secretly trying to figure out if they can kill their rival across the room with an hor'deourve.

And it was boring! So unbelievably boring!

Nikola wished in that moment he still had his vampiric tendency to drink what he wanted and not get tipsy, alcohol made these things less painful, even when the ability to be inebriated was lost.

Helen had restricted him to three glasses. He was almost done his second.

Helen was lost amongst the suits and ties, chatting and smiling and greeting everyone, he had found a corner and stayed there, his eyes fixed on her.

"Hello, Dr. Magnus, I am Gregory Dorian, it's an honor to meet you in person," Helen smiled at the handsome, broad-shouldered man. His appearance reminded her of a blonde Clark Kent, complete with thick black glasses.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Dorian, you must be part of…" Helen tried to pinpoint, from physical clues, his department.

"From the government, overseer, making sure you guys stay in business, pretty much I am your financial advisor."

"Ah yes, of course, that explains why I didn't recognize you," she smiled and shook his hand.

"Well, I'm only one of a whole team, I got the privilege to come down to the conference this year though, and I'll let you know I am relishing it," he smiled widely at her.

"Well thank you, I'll try not to be too boring," Helen smiled and returned her hand to the neck of her glass.

"Pardon my prying, but the man you came in with, the one sulking in the corner," Helen laughed at the description of her escort.

"Yes, he's my escort for the evening," she glanced in his direction and sure enough, he was brooding.

"He wouldn't happen to be Nikola Tesla, I've heard a lot of weird things about him, aside from the building of the radio and an affinity for pigeons, he's one of your guys isn't he? I mean he's…not exactly human…"

Helen sighed.

"He is one and the same, and yes, he is…" she smirked at the look of curiosity over Gregory's face.

"So it's true then, he's a vampire."

"Was. Was a vampire, he has unwittingly de-vamped himself, if you desire to speak with him I suggest you don't bring it up he's rather touchy on the subject," Helen took a sip of her champagne.

"Oh, uh, of course…I hope we get another chance to speak, I'm sure a lot of what you have to say would be… enlightening," he flashed another smile before slipping away into the crowd.

…what an odd man…

Helen sighed again and saw the diminishing crowd. It was nearly midnight; perhaps it was time to save Nikola from further torture.

She walked up to him nodding goodbyes to her fellow sanctuary heads as they said goodnight, until she was standing right beside him.

"You know if you keep making that face it's going to get stuck like that…" she chuckled and drank more of her glass.

"You know I hate parties, even ones attended by abnormals, it's all pointless," he grumbled taking a sip from his own glass.

"You have made that perfectly clear," Helen grinned slightly, "But you do look such the handsome devil in a tux."

She toyed with his bow tie a little.

"The fun part is removing it," he winked and finished off what was left in his glass. "Let's go back to the room, order a bottle of real wine, put on some slow music, and make wild passionate love under the Italian stars, lets just do it!"

Helen had to stifle her laugh as she tried not to completely flush at that statement.

"Boy Nikola, when you woo a girl you do it with style."

"I'm serious! Let's get out of this black hole of a party, it is slowly killing me I swear, not to mention the hairy one you call Smithers sheds like a Golden Retriever, and I think he left some hairs when he folded this suit because I am itching like you wouldn't believe!"

"Fine, I'll bid some goodbyes, then I'll take you back to the hotel and out of that suit."

He smirked mischievously.

"That's more like it!"

_**~~~~Outside~~~~**_

Gregory Dorian left the extravagant ballroom and into a car pulled up front.

He got into the back and slammed the door shut.

The car pulled away and he turned to the fellow passenger in the seat beside him.

"Did you make contact?" asked the person, her face hidden in the shadows of the tinted car.

"Yes, they're there, from what I can tell they are staying in the same hotel," said Dorian.

"Did you find out which one?" asked the woman.

"La Notte Piccione Hotel, very high class, very Magnus. I saw the key card when she was searching through her purse for her lipstick.

"Excellent."

"Her friend is not here to bodyguard from what I can tell, as we expected, his vampirism has been neutralized." Dorian removed his glasses and pulled out a laptop and firewire.

He folded the glasses to reveal a small input and inserted the firewire into it and connected it to the laptop; soon pictures showed up on the screen.

"They stayed apart most of the evening, but his gaze never left her," the images kept flashing across the screen.

"Well this provides a slight complication, but nothing we can't handle, go to La Notte, find out their rooms, see if you can get into the building directly adjacent, I want you to find out all that you can."

_**~~~~La Notte~~~~**_

Helen breathed deeply.

The breeze was light and warm on the suite's balcony. Nikola had ordered a bottle of very expensive wine for the two of them, and then quickly adjourned to shower.

Helen thought about sneaking in on him for a change but the view from the balcony was much more enticing than listening to Nikola scene O' Solo Mio in the shower.

Rome was such a romantic city, full of art and history, and such a gorgeous night sky. Helen rested her hands on the stone railing, letting the wind caress her gently. She loved Italy, the language, the cities, the wine; it's why she bought a Villa here, not that she has been there in awhile. Life had certainly kept her busy.

But this moment, amidst the sights and smells, and rolling stars, it was simply relaxing.

She was so relaxed she did not see or hear Nikola behind her.

His hair was wet and spiky, and he was dressed back into his suit, and cravat; like he hadn't changed out of it at all. He held a wine bottle in one hand and two glasses in the other.

He placed them down gently on the floor next to the balcony door and stalked over to her silently, coming within a hair's breadth of her.

Helen lolled her head to the sigh of the wind, exposing her bare neck, letting the moon paint it with it's light.

It was the most entrancing sight Nikola had ever seen and his hands reached out deftly and rested on her shoulders, and his lips on to her exposed neck.

Helen shuddered slightly at the contact, but quickly relaxed against him.

His one hand draping around to support her around the waist while the other reached over her shoulder and slipping into the bodice of her gown as he kissed her neck more fervently.

"Nikola," Helen breathed out, "People might see."

"Up here?" he moved to the back of her neck, "It's just you and me, Helen, no one is watching."

He tightened the arm around her waist to pull her flush up against him and she gasped lightly, her arms reaching around behind her to grasp at his back.

She let out a light moan as Nikola ran his fingers gently over the contours of her chest.

She let go and spun around to kiss him passionately.

He took no time in kissing her back; leading her slowly back inside the room, and closing the balcony door behind her.


	11. Chapter 11 A Little Mystery

**Chapter 11 – A Little Mystery**

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

Sparky lay snuggled on his bed in Nikola's lab, he had snuggled in his paws a seat cushion, someone must've spilt wine on it at one time, and it reminded Sparky of his friend.

He lightly chewed on it in his sleep, his leg twitching occasionally.

He must've been dreaming about chasing something through a field, or maybe a dream about Nikola taking him for a walk, either way he was sleeping happily and contentedly.

Suddenly his ear twitched instead of his legs and he sprung up growling. Something was wrong and he could sense it.

_**~~~~La Notte~~~~**_

Helen couldn't think of a time when she had been more relaxed, more content, than she was right now, except, maybe the day after she had given birth to Ashley and she was watching her little body sleep in the incubator.

But even that was different than this.

She was exhausted, but the good kind. Her body felt light and heavy at the same time, and her heart was beating slow and fast.

This is what Nikola did to her.

He lied, equally as exhausted in front of her, his head rested on her stomach, and his arms splayed by her sides.

After making _wild and passionate _love to her, he tried to kiss a trail down her body…he ended up stuck there, where he was, with no energy to move, except to lightly kiss the soft skin of her abdomen and stomach occasionally.

She breathed out a laugh at him when he managed to groan out "I've fallen and I can't get up…"

She was half sure he'd fall asleep there. She didn't mind it really, it was rather comfortable, and he wasn't complaining, so she moved the sheet half around him and half around her so that she didn't feel completely exposed. She ruffled his hair lightly with her hands.

"I wish you wouldn't strain yourself so much Nikola, your lifespan is already shortened enough as it is," she giggled lightly, still running her hands through his hair.

He murmured something in response, but it was barely coherent so Helen let it go.

"There was something weird about one of the guests at the Gala," Helen thought out loud changing the subject randomly.

"Helen, must I remind you of the redundancy of that statement?" Nikola groaned tiredly.

"Not that kind of weird, the something-doesn't-fit kind of weird, he was too, too…knowledgeable, for his standing, he said he was from the government, and I am aware that they send down an overseer to this conference, but this guy, this Gregory Dorian, there is something off about him," she sighed and pondered and Nikola chuckled weakly.

"Of course the one person at the whole Gala who wasn't spitting acid, eating out of his ear, and sporting a pair of gills is the one who is off," he scoffed.

"I mean it, I work with abnormals, there's a difference between there's something non-human and there's something off, and he was definitely off, but human…I can't explain it," Nikola lifted his head slightly and rested his chin on her abdomen.

"Maybe it was his cologne, nervous men sweat, sweaty men are self-conscious, self-conscious men drench themselves in smelly pee to hide their odor so they aren't self-conscious about their sweat so they're not nervous…he looked nervous to me," Nikola shrugged… sort of.

"It wasn't his smell, it was him, he was off, everything about him was off," Helen sat up making Nikola have to roll over.

"Well what did he talk to you about?" Nikola muttered, unhappy that he had to move from his super comfortable spot between Helens legs.

"You, actually, he asked if you were still a vampire, but how did he know, I've never brought you up before, I've kept your name out of the reports, I'm still trying to convince the world that you died-"

"A severely impoverished old man, yes I know, I sent flowers to my gravesight," Nikola groaned, the thought of death not appealing at that moment.

"Well then how did he know? Who let it slip, one of the other Heads? Did you insult someone too loudly and use your name?"

"I was on my best behavior, I barely spoke to anyone, let alone use my name," Nikola sat up slowly and leaned against the headboard.

"It's just…it's driving me mad!" Helen stood up taking the sheet with her, leaving Nikola exposed.

He flopped over the bed to reach for his clothing, realizing she wasn't going to let this little mystery go.

Helen grabbed her nightgown and threw it on before dropping the sheet back on the bed and pulling out her tablet.

"It's time to do a little research," Helen turned on the tablet and typed in the name GREGORY DORIAN into the search field.

"Oh Helen, you are a serious workaholic, I'm starting to understand why you don't take many vacations," Nikola got up and picked up the bottle of wine and the glasses he had abandoned earlier, pouring a glass for himself.

He sprawled out on to the couch, clad in only his boxers and sipped the elegant wine.

Helen moved to sit on the same couch.

"Hey if you're going to work and sit there at least have the decency to cuddle me."

Nikola gave her a 'come hither' look and she sighed, but obliged him, lying along him, her back leaning on his chest and her legs draped overtop his.

"No groping," she said immediately, and Nikola frowned.

"Aww no fun," he pouted and continued to sip his wine, but still happy to have her close to him, working or not.

Helen couldn't deny that she was comfortable as well, he was warm, and surprisingly not handsy.

He rested one hand gently on her knee and the other held his wine glass.

He let her work, she let him cuddle, a surprisingly simple compromise.

"Oh my," she muttered shortly after.

"What?" Nikola responded, not really caring, but willing to indulge her and her OCD.

"The database has no record of a Gregory Dorian, save for an old man who owned a bakery in Sussex back in 1892, but I doubt he's who we're looking for," Helen bit her lip in concentration.

"Not necessarily, according to that thing, Nikola Tesla was a Croatian recluse who claimed to invent the radio and the AC generator and talked to pigeons, and died because no one believed him."

"Well you are a Croatian recluse who claimed to invent the radio and AC generator, and you did in fact talk to pigeons," Helen re-searched the name.

"Hey, I didn't claim, I did, in fact, invent the radio and the AC generator, and as for the pigeons, well, they were the only thing that didn't try to bite me when I fed them."

Helen laughed.

"And what a special relationship it was."

Nikola frowned.

"Just check it, he could be an abnormal in disguise, or maybe his name is Dorian Gregory, and he was trying to be James Bond but he forgot the last part of the line, you know, Gregory, Dorian Gregory," Nikola mad a bad impersonation of Sean Connery.

"Now that's just…"

Helen trailed off.

"I need to get a call through to Henry," she said quickly and quickly opened up Skype on her tablet and called Henry.

"Hey Doc," mumbled a sleepy Henry.

"Good morning Henry, sorry, did I wake you?" Helen looked at her watch, what was Henry doing sleeping at 9:00 am in the morning, of course it was the middle of the night here, but still.

"Not really, I haven't been sleeping much anyways, what's up?" Henry rubbed his eyes.

"I have something I want you to run through the database, get as much information on this person as you can," Helen sent Henry the file, "As quick as possible!"

"Sure Doc," mumbled Henry. "Wait, isn't it like 1 in the morning over there?"

"Not the point Henry."

He nodded and accepted the file.

"Ok I'll run this through the databases, see what I can dig up..."

Nikola listened tentatively to their conversation as he poured himself more wine. He bumped his elbow and the wine missed the glass and poured allover the coffee table.

"AH! Son of a bitch!" yelped Nikola.

"Who the heck was that Doc?" asked Henry.

Helen looked over at Nikola and glared.

"It's just Nikola, he's here with me," Helen turned back to Henry.

"Hey, nice bed head, is that the new look?" joked Nikola waving at Henry.

"Not like yours is any better cockatoo," mumbled Henry. "Wait, why are you in Helen's room at 1 in the morning…wearing that!"

Henry gestured to the black briefs Nikola wore.

"We were all dragged out of bed for this, Tiny Tim," Nikola grabbed the towel he had left on the floor and used it to soak up the wine before it stained the carpet.

Helen resisted the urge to smack his cheeky ass, and not in the fun way.

"Get back to me when you have something."

"K Doc."

Henry signed off and Helen turned to Nikola.

"Could you have been anymore obnoxious?" she glared at him.

"Yes, I could've made out with you and have done a strip tease, but then everyone would know," Nikola smirked.

Helen slapped him.

"Ow!" Nikola held his cheek.

"You are incorrigible!" she stated.

"Yes, incorrigibly sexy," he grinned.

"Oh go to bed!"

Helen stood up and walked over to the rumpled bed and threw the blanket over top of her and shut off the light.

Nikola still smirked and silently sneaked his way to the other side of the bed and crawled in with her cuddling up close.

"Do you ever stop?" Helen mumbled.

"Only when I'm dead."

"Well then get it over with and let me sleep!" she bit cruelly.

"Now I know you don't mean that," he nuzzled into the crook of her neck.

Helen let out a light chuckle and eventually relaxed.

"I hate you," she mumbled.

"And I love you too."


	12. Chapter 12 Escalibur Cometh

**Chapter 12 – Escalibur Cometh**

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

Henry snored loudly at his desktop, a light stream of drool rolling down his lip onto his hand.

Will entered with a light spring in his step, for once Magnus had gone away and the world hadn't fallen apart around them in a matter of minutes, Nikola issue or not, he was having a good day.

He saw Henry sleeping and sighed, knowing the poor boy hadn't had a wink of sleep in the last few days, and felt sorry he had to wake him, but Henry was one of the main reasons the walls didn't come crumbling down on top of them, but he was going to make sure that he got a day off when Magnus got back.

"Henry…Henry!" Henry jolted up and almost fell out of his chair.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he groaned sleepily and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry to wake you, buddy, but we have our planned systems diagnostic and I need you," Will pat Henry on the shoulder.

"Yah, crap, of course, I must have…dosed off a little…crap!" He suddenly tapped frantically at the computer. "Oh crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"What?" Will looked concerned.

"Doc gave me this file to run through some databases, she wanted the results ASAP, damn, I just wish I wasn't so tired," mumbled Henry bringing up the info.

"Why would Magnus care about some guy named Gregory Dorian?" asked Will as he read the file.

"I don't know, I didn't ask, apparently he is supposed to be dead, according to this file," Henry squinted at the screen. "Maybe a newly discovered abnormal?"

Will nodded his head.

"It's got to be something if Magnus is curious," Will put his hands on his hip.

"Yah, got to be…" Henry sat back and stared at it. "She called around 1 am her time, and Nikola was with her, she must have been in a rush because neither of them were dressed."

"What do you mean?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"I mean the Doc and Vlad were together in her room at 1 in the morning wearing pajamas, I tell you it was weird."

"I can't even picture that," mumbled Will incredulously.

"Yah, I always figured Tesla just wore his suit to bed," sighed Henry, everything about this situation seemed fishy.

"Hmm, send her the file, we'll ask questions when she gets back," Henry nodded his head and sent the information to Magnus's tablet.

_**~~~~Rome Conference~~~~**_

Nikola yawned at the back of the convention room. He was standing at the back keeping his gaze on the beautiful woman at the front giving a lecture on life forms with evolved brain function and the identification of mutant genetic coding something or other blah-blah-blah. He loved Helen, he really did, but he still stayed firm on his conviction that she could put an army to sleep with one of her lectures. When Nikola did a lecture, he had shock and awe, and usually a dead cat. It was engaging! Helen was all fact and formal no flare!

But despite how bored he was, he refused to let his eyes wander from her.

Knowing from personal experience, anyone could walk into this room and snatch her away. Unless it was him, he was not going to let anyone even try.

He stood by the door so he could monitor anyone who came and went.

The door opened lightly and Nikola turned to inspect.

It was no one important, just a little security guard for the convention.

"What is it?" Nikola whispered to the little man.

He couldn't have been more than 5'8", about as intimidating as a wallflower.

"Mr. Tesla sir, you need to come with me, we believe that Helen Magnus is in danger."

Nikola tensed and looked at Helen, still pratting on, showing slides about a mutated DNA strand and it's unique protein properties or something equally as boring.

Nikola didn't want to leave her, but if she was really in danger he should investigate.

He sighed and nodded.

"Okay, show me," the young man nodded and they exited the room.

Walking behind the young man he noticed how nervous he was, adjusting his collar, sweating from the forehead and neck, his hands shaking.

Whatever this was, it scared the young security guard silly.

Suddenly he heard an all too familiar sound…the click of a gun being cocked.

Nikola growled silently.

"Good job Horatio, you've done your job well," said the so-called Gregory Dorian, stepping up behind them.

"You deceived me," Nikola growled at the security guard, if he even was a security guard.

"I did as you asked, now release my mother, please! She's all I have!" the young man pleaded pitifully.

"Your mother is fine, she never left the Home, you on the other hand, are an idiot," Dorian pulled on the trigger and Horatio fell silently to the ground, stone dead.

Nikola turned and snarled at the man.

"What do you want from me?" Nikola wished he could morph into his vampiric state at that moment.

"Nikola Tesla, we've been looking for you for awhile now, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," said Dorian, as three masked men came out of the shadows, guns poised at the ex-vamp.

"I won't let you harm Helen, I'll let you kill me before that happens," growled Nikola.

"I see you play into the notion that everyone's after the infamous Dr. Helen Magnus, and to be true we were interested, she had a very unique ability and a beautiful mind, but frankly, we don't like sloppy seconds, why go after someone everyone has gone after, but you Nikola, you are like a ripe peach ready for the picking, but no one has been able to climb the ladder to get to you, and your ability, or at least your former ability, is very much indeed more fascinating than you can imagine," Dorian gave a toothy smile.

"But I don't have it any more, I'm not of any use to you!"

Suddenly Nikola felt a little prick at the back of his neck and he reach a hand around to feel the source. He pulled out a dart and suddenly began to feel whoozy.

"On the contrary Mr. Tesla, you are very important to us, you just don't know it yet."

Nikola fell to the floor, the world around him spinning out of control.

"B-b-bastards…"

Nikola mumbled out before slipping into unconsciousness.

_**~~~~Conference Hall~~~~**_

Helen finished the lecture and bowed graciously to excuse herself, shaking hands with a few of the guests who had come to listen, all the while looking for Nikola. He had disappeared from her sights sometime during the middle, she wondered if he had gone to raid the hotel's wine cellar, but he hadn't come back and she was getting a little worried.

"Great lecture, Dr. Magnus, truly spectacular," Helen spun to see Gregory Dorian.

"Oh, uh, thank you," Helen smiled kindly.

"You have wonderful insight into these creatures, how do you do it?" he smiled back.

"It's something I believe in, simple enough, I'd love to stay and chat but I'm looking for my brooding friend, I hope he hasn't gotten himself into the free bar," Helen sighed.

"I do believe I saw the man you speak of go back to your hotel, he was in a bit of a rush," Helen bit her lip.

"Why would he do that?" she asked more to herself than to Dorian.

"May I trouble you for a cup of coffee?" he offered gently.

"No, I don't drink it, plus I should see what Nikola is up to," Helen, again, smiled gently.

"Oh, please, a short drink, I would so much to pick at your mind for 15 minutes," he gave her puppy dog eyes. "How much trouble can that man get into in 15 minutes?"

"You'd be surprised, but you're right, 15 minutes isn't all that bad, I accept your invitation," Dorian offered her his arm and she took it lightly.

_**~~~~Somewhere in Paris~~~~**_

Laura Mongrove sat at her desk in Paris, her shipment from Rome was to be arriving soon, something very important to her work.

She was CEO of the company EscCor, or the Escalibur Corporation. Officially they developed technology for the military, like a real life Stark Industries, but without Robert Downey Jr.

EscCor's main profit came from the sophisticated tracking devices, and training simulation developments.

They combined great technological minds from every corner of the world, gave them a buttload of money, an idea, and then told them to "go play."

This was just their official dealings; the stuff you can Google them on any computer.

Their unofficial work was much more.

Though Biological Warfare had been the primary fear among the world's heads ever since the Cold War, it has generally gone dead in these growing times.

With the Cabal's Lazarus virus 3 years ago, and the company's fall out and utter destruction shortly afterwards, company's like EscCor pressed the pause button on developing any type of Super Virus, or immuno-disease that will only wipe out people with blonde hair, or missiles that spread mad cow disease. A new type of Warfare emerged.

Abnormal Warfare.

It was quick, clean, intelligent, and more productive than an aerosol can filled with Hepatitis. With growing developments in gene therapies, manipulation and even cloning, the idea or making an artificial creature with the ability to maim, kill, and obey blindlessly, it would turn the tide of war to whoever had the highest bid.

They were years from a working prototype, with such a wide variety or abnormals and abilities to work from it was not as simple as splicing the head of a cat with the body of a dog.

Mongrove was personally overseeing this project.

Her team had managed to uncover and steal a good chunk of the data from the Cabal's destroyed systems, their work with the scrubbed orphans and that Magnus girl being of particular interest.

Though the Cabal were too closed-minded about the project. They wanted to save all humanity from these beautiful creatures.

Dana Whitcomb, a personal rival of Laura's was too specific to see the implications of her research.

Her little experiments had died out quickly because they had gone up against the wrong people. Magnus was no threat to the world, just like a child wasn't a threat to a pitbull.

Laura saw the great potential of creating a superhuman. Not to destroy, but to create peace. The world needed to be scared into peace and nothing was more scary than power.

Keeping humans out of the fight was the first step.

Laura Mongrove heard a knock at her door.

"Come in."

A gawky man in a long white coat came in and fixed his glasses.

"The package has arrived Madame, I had it sent down to the main lab."

He twitched nervously as her lips curled into a smile.

"Excellent Jeffries, I want to see him, have him ready in a half hour."

He nodded his head and scurried out.

"Excellent indeed," Laura lifted up the picture she had been examining for the last few hours.

This was her way in, _he_ was her way in, and now that she had his weakness, the door to the greatest creation on Earth had been opened.

She laughed at the photo, every creature had his weakness, and the elusive but brilliant Nikola Tesla's weakness was nothing more extravagant than a woman. In her hand was the photo of them on the balcony of La Notte, taken discreetly by her henchman from the apartment building across from the famed hotel.

She had laughed herself hoarse upon receiving it; she had just what she needed handed to her on a silver platter.

She pressed her comm link.

"Bring in Helen Magnus."


	13. Chapter 13 The Master and The Puppet

AN: This chapter might be a little off history wise, I'm going off strictly what I know of from the show, so I'm sorry if I muddle up a bit of the history. This Chapter acts more like a story within the story, I'm going off a random inspiration it will make sense as the story progresses.

Chapter 13 – The Master and The Puppet

**_~~~~London 1942~~~~_**

_Nikola walked down the London streets, dressed all in black._

_The streets were empty, no one dared leave their home in case of a blitz._

_He felt the ground shudder as a bomb went off in the distance and he jumped into the shadows of an alleyway as a small platoon of soldiers came running._

_This was ridiculous, the fact that he needed to go straight into the heart of danger to seek help to get out of danger. He had to sneak straight into the base camp, get down into their bunker, and find his contact._

_She was his only hope._

_He had screwed up, and he had screwed up badly._

_He moved fast behind enemy lines, trying to stay as much in the shadows as possible, knocking out a few young soldiers keeping guard till he reached the entrance to the bunker. _

_He knocked out the guards and dragged them out of sight before sneaking in._

_He made his way through the maze of ladders and corridors till he found the room he was looking for._

_He snuck in, deftly silent._

_The room was much more appealing that the rest of the bunker, it's walls were dry-walled and painted a dull beige, a desk in once corner, a chest of drawers in the other, and a cot._

_He sat on one of the chairs, a homey touch for this rather abismal and oh-so-military quarters._

_He pressed his hand to the light and it flickered to life._

_He heard the door open and the sound of boots click against the concrete floor._

"_Thank you Corporal, I want the data sent to Churchhill immediately," said the voice._

"_Yes m'am." _

_The entity closed the door behind her and gasped._

"_Hello Helen," said Nikola._

"_You bastard! How dare you come here after what you've done!" she growled._

"_Helen, listen to me, it's not what it looks like," Nikola stood up and dodged the item she threw in his direction._

"_It's not what it looks like? You were planning on giving your death ray to every allied country! How is that not what it looks like?" she snarled at him._

"_That was not my intention, I was deceived as much as you, please Helen, listen to me, we've been friends for years, you're the only one I can turn to," he pleaded._

"_What did you think would happen with your cochamamy scheme, you could've killed hundreds, maybe even thousands of people because of your stupidity!"_

"_Not stupidity, just a lapse in judgement, I forgot that people are not up to my level of intelligence, and I made a mistake, but I'm not a traitor, look I'll prove it to you, I've made a device, I've made it for you, as a peace offering, Helen, it will help right my wrong, but I need your help, I need to get out of here."_

_Helen relented slightly._

"_This better not be one of your tricks, Nikola, or so help me…"_

"_I know, I know," he groaned and stepped towards her. "I promise, I'll go into hiding, I'll keep to myself, I'll find someplace remote and secluded to finish my work, this is the last time I try to intervene."_

_He looked sincerely into her eyes._

"_Ok, Nikola, I'll help you."_

**_~~~~Present~~~~_**

Nikola snapped awake and shook his head.

It throbbed slightly, and his eyes couldn't focus very well.

What had happened?

He went to move and realized he was strapped down.

"Hey!"

He shouted out…or at least, he thought he did.

"Patient #901 is just coming out of anesthesia, it will take a moment for the drug to neutralize," Nikola moved his head in the direction of the voice and saw a tall, lean, and fidgety man standing beside a tall woman in a business suit.

"Excellent work Jeffries, that will be all," the man nods his head and moves to the system of medical technology and computers and starts typing.

"W-what do you want from me?"

The woman looked at him and smiled.

"Good morning Mr. Tesla, it is such a pleasure to meet you, I've heard many stories about you, you are a fascinating man," she walked up to him and he blinked trying to focus on her.

"Are you Cabal?" Nikola snarled.

She scoffs.

"Hardly, though I am a fan of their work, but their motives were complete trash, they saw people like you and your friends as threats to the Earth, while I see them as a key to turning the tides of war to a new balance, stopping all this pain and suffering. You see, I've believed ever since I was a small child that God put everything on this Earth for a purpose, therefore abnormals are not a construction error, just like mentally challenged can play beautiful music, or schizophrenics can be math geniuses, I believe abnormals are God's gift to humanity for a reason; the silver lining."

"Oh you're one of those people," Nikola muttered, his brain finally clicking into functionality.

"Not religious, are you?" she smiled cheekily at him.

"I'm a scientist, science is my religion," he sneered at her.

"Cynical; I expected you to be, but what you don't understand is that you are the most important piece to my plan, your gift is the key to peace, eternal peace, your sacrifice will save many, possibly all who live on this Earth."

"What gift? I'm a walking magnet with a brain, granted a very ingenius brain, but unless you think that I'm going to construct some doomsday weapon for you, think again!" Nikola barked.

"No, nothing so barbaric as a weapon, I believe you tried that idea once and it blew up in your face," she smirked at him, a hint of a laugh in her voice.

Nikola rolled his eyes and growled.

"I'm talking about your genetic gift, passed on to you as naturally as eye color, or bone structure, our inheritance of a once great race…"

"Well, that's where you're little scheme fails, you obviously didn't do your research well enough, or you would know that I lost my inheritance, my gift as you call it, and no matter what I do I can't get it back, not without source blood, and unless you have a stock of that hidden somewhere all you're getting is Magnet Man."

"You never did find the source blood did you? When destroying the Cabal, oh yes, I know all about what they did, see The Cabal and EscCor are sister companies, we learned much from their last experiment, and we managed to gain from their downfall. They were very ambitious, if a little confused," Nikola stared at her intently.

"You found the source blood?" he stared in shock.

"Just before destroying their last remaining facility," she grinned.

"You're still taking a long shot that it will actually work," Nikola sighed.

"Yes but Jeffries here is the world's leading geneticist, he and his team, under funding from EscCor of course, have perfected cloning, patent pending."

Jeffries looks up and waves awkwardly.

"And we have the leading expert on teratology on her way."

"Wait, Magnus? You leave her out of this!"

"She has her role in the cause, I can't change it."

"She won't do it, she won't go with your high and mighty plans for world peace!"

"If she wants you to survive she will, as I understand she has a soft spot in that 160 year old heart for a certain scientist," Laura opened a file and pulled out the photo. "And from what I can tell she is more than just a booty call for you."

Nikola growled.

"Helen would never risk the lives of the whole world for one person, even someone she cares about, that's her responsibility, her burden, she lost her own daughter because of this! She won't use me for the destruction of the world and I won't let her!"

"We'll see, you'd be surprised of how love and loss can influence a person."

She placed the photo back in the file and turned on her heel.

"Prepare him for the first stage!"

Jeffries nodded and typed a on his keyboard.

"Don't worry Mr. Tesla, you're doing this for a great cause."

Nikola clenched his teeth as his system was flooded with a hot seering pain.

**_~~~~Rome~~~~_**

Helen cradled the mug of tea as she sat across from Dorian.

"This is a nice café, I come here all the time," said Dorian as he drank his coffee.

"It's pleasant, Mr. Dorian," Helen looked at him, studying him.

"I actually asked you here to make a little proposition for you, Dr. Magnus, I hope you don't mind," he said after a moment of silence.

Helen sighed.

"You're not really from the Government are you?" she shook her head.

"No, I work for a company, called EscCor, have you heard of them?" he took out his business card and pushed it in front of her.

"Yes, you specialize in military technology, tracking devices and simulators, right?"

"Yes, but that is such a small superficial part of what we do, you see, we're working on something big, bigger than the military, and we need you're help."

Helen looked at him seriously.

"Me? What do you need me for?"

"You're familiar with The Cabal?"

She tensed at the name.

"Yes." She bit coldly.

"Their last experiment, the one involving your daughter, dealt with 6 humans with scrubbed DNA, perfectly flawless, and a template to create a team of evolved humans, with qualities from the most deadliest abnormals known to man all for the goal of saving humanity, right?"

Helen ground her teeth.

"Yes."

"Well what we're working on is similar to that, but with a much greater purpose, instead of taking humans and scrubbing them clean of genetic defects and flaws and making them into a super-creature, we're creating artificial humanoid forms, with abilities far more spectacular than the Cabal could imagine, creating an army of intelligent, obedient, and expendable soldiers."

"And what do you plan to do with them when they are finished, sell them to the highest bidder?" Helen glared, unimpressed.

"No, we plan to use them, not to cause hurt, but to cause peace, with this Super-Army, the world will be given a choice, either make peace and stop fighting, or die."

"So you're intention is to scare the world into peace, that isn't peace that's tyranny!"

"No, Tyranny would imply we would get control of the world, and domination is not the goal in this matter, it's a bluff, if they have no need to fight, they have no need for militaries and guns and tanks, and so the money that would normally go into these facilities would be free to go elsewhere, we could end poverty, hunger, pollution, we could stop the world from hurting itself, it's what everyone wants, we are just giving them an extra push."

"You could also cause chaos and rioting, did you ever think of that?" Helen glared at him even harder. "Too many people have been killed in pursuit of goals very much like this, you are no better than the Cabal!"

She shouted and threw her mug of tea in his face.

She got up to leave.

"I won't be any part of it!" she started to storm away.

"It's a shame though, Nikola was so depending on you, but you may have just signed his death warrant."

Helen stopped and bit her lip nervously.

She turned around.

"What?"

"Oh, did you believe what I said about him going back to the hotel? No, sorry, he's in our custody, see you and him, together, are the key to the success of this mission, he has what we need, and you know how to unlock it, so unless you want him to die, a very horrible and painful death, I suggest you come with me, and my little friends…"

All the patrons in the café stand up and flash their weapons.

"Quietly and cooperative if possible."

Helen sighed and raised her hands in defeat and winced and he stood up and pulled her to him.

"Walk."

He said forcibly and put a hand at the small of her back leading her out to a black car.

_**~~~~London 1942~~~~**_

_Nikola walked in step with Helen along the underground system below London._

"_You say this will lead me to the River?" he looked at her._

"_Yes, my contact there will sail you to an island off the coast of Norway, from there, I have documents for your new identity already being sent there, luckily your executioners think you're still in New York."_

"_Yes, I sent them on a wild goose chase, some false data, and a crappy safe."_

_Helen sighed._

"_You always did have a flair for the dramatic, I'll have some of my contacts handle the report of your death over there, from this point on Nikola Tesla is dead, you must understand that," she looked at him._

"_I do, I do, and thank you," he said looking at her sadly for a moment._

"_What's a fake death among old friends?" she muttered lightly, patting his shoulder._

"_Helen, I-" he hesitated for a moment before kissing her hard, pushing her against the wall, needing to show her how he felt before she was gone forever._

_He placed his hand on her waist, but she quickly pushed him away from her._

_He breathed heavily, and saw as she fumed before raising her hand and slapping him across the face._

"_Is this all a big joke to you, Nikola!" she cried out angrily. "Is this all you think about? You bastard! I am here as your friend, and I am helping you, just as that! How dare you!"_

_She slapped his again._

"_Helen…"_

"_How dare you use me to settle your unresolved desires! Especially after all I've bloody done for you!"_

"_Helen, I-"_

"_Either keep it in your pants or I walk out right now, and good luck finding your way out of this mess yourself!"_

_He sighed sadly and she stormed off._

_Feeling like his heart had just been ripped out and stomped on by the only woman it every felt anything for._

_He sunk in as he watched her walk away._

_She'd never understand…_

**_~~~~Present~~~~_**

Nikola groaned back into consciousness again.

His body trembled from the force of the fluid they were wracking his system with, it was like they were pouring an elemental into his veins.

"He's just completed the second wash, we'll be starting the third shortly, he needs a moment to recuperate," said Jeffries, looking at his team.

Nikola whimpered slightly trying to move.

"It's ok Mr. Tesla, the wash is going to remove anything that could harm you later, it will be fine."

"Doctor Jeffries! She's here!" cried one of the team members.

"Really? H-how do I look?" he smirked nervously.

"Uhhh," said the young man.

"Nevermind, get to your stations, act normal!"

They nod and spring to their seats at the computers.

Laura Mongrove followed by Dorian, pulled Helen into the lab.

"Nikola! What have you done to him?" shouted Magnus.

"We are proceeding in a 5-step blood and systems wash, removing any harmful bacteria or abnormalities that could cause complications during his transformation," said Jeffries nervously but proudly, "It's completely safe."

"What transformation?"

Helen yanked her hand out of Dorians grip and rushed to Nikola's side.

"His transformation back into Sanguine Vampiris, of course," said Jeffries, laughing nervously.

"Turning him back into a vampire is the building block to our mission, his genetic make-up will be the template, the first layer, to which we will create our army," said Laura.

Helen snarled at the woman.

"How?" she spat.

Nikola was unresponsive, though awake, and could barely understand what was going on around him.

"How he originally became one of course, with a few modifications, and a much bigger dose," said Mr. Jeffries, pulling up the formulas and schematics.

"You have source blood?" asked Helen; she stroked Nikola's cheek in worry.

"You were not the only one in pursuit for The Cabal's research, we just got to the blood first," said Laura, holding up the vial.

"The main ingredient, the puppet, and the master, it's like art," smiled Laura.

"And what is your plan once Nikola is transformed?" asked Helen.

"Come this way, it would be much simpler to show you rather than describe," said Laura, having Dorian pull Helen away from Nikola.

Helen got pushed from the lab through some doors, down a hallway to a second set of doors.

Laura swiped a keycard and pressed the code and the doors unlocked and Helen was dragged inside.

She gasped at the sight.

In front of her, were rows and rows of babies; test tube babies…

"This Dr. Magnus, is the future!"

_**~~~~Old City Sanctuary~~~~**_

Will sighed staring out the window.

It was raining buckets out there, and so suddenly too.

They hadn't heard back from Magnus, or Tesla and they all had the sneaking suspicion that something had gone horribly wrong down in Rome.

Will jumped when he suddenly heard a loud cry.

He ran out of the office and to the source of the strained cries.

He got to the room where it was coming from and saw Big Guy and Kate.

"What happened?" asked Will.

"Guh guh! I went to feed Sparky and he ran out of the room…" said Big Guy.

Sparky cried again pawing at the large window desperately.

"I think he's got cabin fever, maybe we should let him out?" suggested Kate.

"He's not a dog with a weak bladder, he's concerned, look at him, he knows something's up and he doesn't like it, Big Guy you can sense these things."

Big Guy closed his eyes and made a low rumbling sound.

"Guuuuh, something's wrong…"

"With what? The Sanctuary?" asked Kate.

"No, he and Nikola are connected on a very strange level, something has happened in Rome, and he knows it," said Will.

"So what do we do about it?"

"I guess we…go to Rome…"


	14. Chapter 14 Memory Lane

Chapter 14 – Memory Lane

**_~~~~Summer 1985~~~~_**

_Helen smiled widely admiring the beautiful silver diamond ring on her finger. _

_She and John had announced their engagement to her father and to Nigel and James. All had cheered and laughed and congratulated the pair ecstatically._

_Her father gave them his blessings, Nigel and James admired her ring, and they had toasted the union._

_There was only one person whose blessings she hadn't received._

_She'd convinced John that she needed to tell him on her own and he reluctantly complied._

_She did not need them to get into a spat over this joyous occasion, the two never got along, and knowing John he would just rub it in Nikola's face._

_It was always a competition with them, who's more brilliant, who's got a girlfriend, whose getting married first._

_It was petty and annoying, besides, Nikola was her friend, and John didn't have to be there._

_She arrived at his apartment and sneaked past the landlady to Nikola's room._

_She knocked lightly and the door opened shortly._

"_Helen, you shouldn't be up here, my landlady will kill you, the moralistic Catholic hag!"_

_He grumbled and Helen pushed her way in and closed the door behind her._

"_She doesn't have to know, besides, what I have to tell you can't wait for the appropriate setting, it's too important for that," she smiled excitedly and pulled Nikola over to the love seat and sat him down beside her. "The most fabulous thing has happened Nikola, truly."_

"_What? Did you finally figure out how the source blood affected you?"_

_She hit him lightly._

"_No, much better than that!" she said ecstatically._

_Nikola shushed her so that they wouldn't be caught._

"_What is it then?" asked Nikola._

_She smiled cheekily._

"_Do you notice anything new about me?"_

"_Only that you are acting like a girl, it's seriously disconcerting," Nikola quirked an eyebrow at her._

"_Look harder, come on," Nikola sighed and roamed his eyes up and down her body._

"_New corset?" he guessed._

"_I thought you were a genius," she frowned at him._

"_Of science, not of…things like this, can you just tell me?" he huffed._

"_Fine," she huffed back but slowly lifted up her bejeweled hand._

"_John proposed, I'm engaged!"_

_She smiled brightly and giddily, but he did not smile back._

_He stared in utter devastation at the sparkling ring._

"_What's wrong Nikola?" her smile slowly faltered._

"_N-nothing, it's fine, I…I'm very, very happy for you…"_

_He got up and went to his small table and took the bottle of wine sitting on top of it._

"_So you and John…finally going to walk down the aisle…" he said less than happily._

"_Yes…and I want you to be there Nikola, as my best man," she said looking up at him._

"_I think only the groom has a best man, you have bridesmaids…" Nikola muttered sarcastically._

"_Conventionally, yes, but the maid of honor is supposed to be the bride's best friend and confidante, which you are, either way I want you there Nikola, please say you will," she got up and held his hand. "Please."_

_He looked at her and sighed._

"_Of course I will…"_

**_~~~~Present~~~~_**

Helen rubbed her head looking at all the data.

It was this, or Nikola, and she couldn't back down…not this time…not after Ashley.

Helen worked diligently to perfect this serum, but knowing Nikola was in the next room getting 'washed' made it hard for her to concentrate, and stalling would only work for so long before they would do something to actually harm him.

She wished she could make a distress call, give her team the heads up, get out of here, but these people had predicted that, cutting off all her lines of communication.

All she had was the medical equipment and the blood, and time was running out.

She sighed and continued working on the serum.

**_~~~~Rome, La Notte~~~~_**

Will, Kate, Big Guy, Henry and Sparky, arrived at La Notte Piccione.

Sparky was being toted in a big chest and Big Guy kept his head down low.

Henry was checking out the conference.

"Ello, are you looking for room?" a thin man in a suit came up to them.

"Hi, we are friends of Helen Magnus, she checked in a few days ago, with a man, they're staying in two rooms here," said Will.

"Ah, yes, I know Magnus, very well, adore her very much, you must be Will Zimm-a-marn, and Kate Freelander, and you big friend is Big Gut, she tell me all about you! Don't worry, I tell no one, my name Amando, Amando Mammoliti," he extends his hand.

"You're an abnormal aren't you?" Will asked.

"Yes, she find me years ago, made me better, got me job, I owe her everything," he smiles.

"Ah, well is she in?"

"No, she not come back since yesterday, she and man leave early morning and no come back!" he shrugged.

"Can we have the keys to their rooms?" said Will.

Amando nods his head and turns around to grab the key to the penthouse suite.

"Here you go." Amando hands the key to Will.

"And the other one?" Will hands the key to Kate.

"What other one?" Amando stares confusedly at them.

"The other room, the one the man was staying."

"No, they stay together!" Amando says giving a cheeky smile.

"What do you mean?" asks Kate a little shell-shocked.

"I mean she and he were ehhh…" Amando makes a suggestive gesture.

Will coughs in surprise.

"Wait, Doc and magnet boy are…" Kate started.

"Together…" Will sighed.

They leave the front desk a little stunned and get into the elevator.

"I can't believe it…the Doc has taken her little love-vamp for a romantic getaway," laughs Kate.

"Henry is going to cry…" muttered Will.

_**~~~~EscCor Headquarters~~~~**_

Laura Mongrove smiled victoriously.

The pieces of this puzzle were falling in place perfectly.

Jeffries had informed her moments ago that Magnus had finished the serum, and they were ready for stage 2.

She had given them the go ahead.

After the transformation they will be ready for extraction.

She brought up the video feed of Nikola.

He'd been out of it for the last while; she wondered what went through the geniuses mind as he dreamt. What does such an elevated mind dream about? Is that where he invents, or is it where he remembers?

A life as long as his would have enough memories to fill a semi.

And everything he has done, and seen, and been, seeing into those memories would be like watching a Christopher Nolan film.

She smirked and watches as they injected the first dosage of the serum into his veins.

"Sweet dreams, puppet."

**_~~~~London 1942~~~~_**

_Helen and Nikola walked in an awkward silence in the underground tunnels._

_He hadn't spoken a word for hours it felt like, and Helen was starting to miss it._

_They finally reached the edge of the tunnel opening up to the mouth of the Thames._

"_Where's your friend?" he said finally._

_She sighed._

"_He's on his way, we are getting bombed right now, you do realize that?" she said hearing the faint sounds of the explosions._

"_Yes," Nikola said solemnly._

_She leaned against the wall and exhaled._

"_We might have to wait a moment, once he's here I'll shut the tunnel."_

_Nikola nodded his head and looked out to the night sky._

"_I'm never going to see you again am I?" he asked her._

"_Probably not," she sighed._

"_Helen, I'm sorry for the way I acted back there, it was un-called for, just don't let our last moment together be that hatred…"_

_She looked up at him._

"_I forgive you, I over-reacted, I've forgotten that you sometimes can't help yourself," she laughed lightly._

"_I do want to tell you something though, something I should've said a long time ago," he stepped up to her and took her hand gently, "I-"_

"_I'm going to have a baby Nikola…" Helen blurted out suddenly._

"_Wh-what?" he let go of her hand._

"_Not now, maybe not even for awhile, definitely after this war is over…but I'm going to have it…"_

"_With who?" asked Nikola, he was taken aghast by the knowledge._

"_When John…you know…well, I was pregnant, I only told my father and James, and they helped me cryogenically freeze the embryo, because I wasn't ready to have a child, and definitely not by myself, but I've finally decided I want a child," Helen looked out to the starry sky,_

"_Helen, I'm sure you'll have a child, with someone, without having to resort to that…"_

_Nikola felt his heart clenching._

"_You are so beautiful, Helen, but why keep something that just brings up painful memories of the past," he looked down sadly, remembering how heartbroken she'd been when John had been discovered, and even worse when she came to him in tears, of course she came to him, she went to James and Nigel with good news, and always to him with bad._

_He had held her the whole night, letting her cry in his arms, letting her get out everything she needed to…loving her like John couldn't…wanting so much to make her forget, which she had, just that she had forgotten the wrong thing._

…_and now she wanted to bring John back, in the form of a baby…_

"_Nikola, any relationship I make will just wither and die, any man I could love won't stay, it's my curse, at least with this child I can stave off loneliness, teach her to grow…" Helen broke Nikola out of his thoughts._

"_Not every man, Helen," Nikola looked up._

"_What?" she said._

"_You will always have me, I'm not going anywhere, come with me Helen, you know I'll protect you, and we'll always have each other, it will be like it was before, in Oxford, before the Five, I'll look after you and any child you decide to have, just come with me..." Nikola held her hands again gently._

"_Nikola, I can't…I can't just abandon my duties in this war to run away with you, you are going to be hunted, you are going into hiding, that is no place for me or for a child, and you know that," she cupped his face gently. "I can't go with you, and you can't stay, that's the way it is and I'm sorry."_

"_But Helen…"_

"_I should go now, I can hear his boat, good bye Nikola!"_

_She pushed him out of the tunnel and closed it behind her._

"_No wait Helen!"_

_The tunnel door slammed shut, cutting them off from each other for good._

…_and she'll never know…_

**_~~~~Present~~~~_**

Helen was dragged from the lab she was put in, and into the main lab with Nikola.

"See Dr. Magnus, this is your brilliance at work!"

Jeffries pointed at Nikola who writhed and screamed in pain as he transformed, she saw his eyes were piercing black and his claws retracted.

If this was brilliance, Helen didn't like it.

"He is coming along nicely, up the dosage!"

Helen spun to look at Jeffries.

"What? Why? Anymore could seriously damage him!"

"It's the only way." Jeffries shrugged.

"Only way for what?" shouted Helen.

"To turn him completely."

_**~~~~La Notte~~~~**_

Will looked around the suite, maid service had already gone through and tidied it up.

"Should we let Sparkster out?" said Kate loading her weapon.

"Um, yah, sure…" Will examined everything in the room, it was in his nature, he's very good at picking up things…then why didn't he pick the fact that Helen and Nikola had become lovers, when had they? Was it recent? Long-going? Is it a fling? Is it serious? He was mentally kicking himself over it.

Big Guy opened Spark's trunk and he burst out sniffing the room.

"Come on Sparky, tell us were they are…" Kate crossed her fingers.

Sparky went up to the balcony door and whined and pawed it.

"Out there?" asked Kate.

She opened the door and Sparky burst out it and flew off the balcony into the air.

"Where is he going?" shouted Kate.

"I don't know, but something tells me we should follow…"


	15. Chapter 15 The Great Escape

Chapter 15 – The Great Escape

_**~~~~Escor HQ~~~~**_

Helen picked furiously at the handcuffs restraining her to the wall.

Nikola had been convulsing and twisting for the better part of an hour, and with the help of a loose Bobbie pin and the unsuspecting Jeffries busy at work, she knew she had to get herself and Nikola out of this place, and soon.

She worked silently but diligently.

The doors suddenly swung open and Dorian strode in quickly, ignoring her, and Nikola, obviously lost in his own distress.

Helen stopped her picking for a minute and listened carefully, pretending to be interested in something else.

"Jeffries, it's wearing off, faster than before, I can feel it's effect slipping, you have to do something now," Dorian whispered fervently, his hands shaking and a trickle of nervous sweat ran down his brow.

"Hmm your body must be building an immunity to the drug, how interesting…" mumbled Jeffries.

He rolled his chair to another computer and Dorian followed in panic.

"That's not so interesting when I stop processing it, Doctor!" growled Dorian, his hands clenching into fists.

"It will take me awhile to develop a new drug that will work, for now I'll just up the dosage, try not to strain yourself too hard," Jeffries took out a bottle of yellowish liquid and jabbed a syringe through the rubber top and filled it, tapping it lightly to remove any air bubbles. "I'll have some spares made up for you so you don't keep running down here."

Jeffries takes Dorian's arm and injects the liquid into Dorian's arm.

"Ahh," winces Dorian. "That will be fine, uh, thank you."

He shook his head back into focus and breathed deeply.

Helen bit her lip as she processed what she'd just witnessed…what was that liquid.

Jeffries filled 3 more syringes with the liquid and handed them to Dorian who subsequently stuffed them into his pocket and strode out as fast as he had come in.

Helen turned back to the task at hand and kept picking at the handcuffs and subtly as she could.

**_~~~~Sky Above Italy~~~~_**

Will sat in the co-pilot chair of the Sanctuary Helicopter as they flew over the Italian countryside. Henry flew the mechanical beast, his brow furrowed in concentration, and Kate sat in the back her eyes fixed to a handheld tracking device, that beeped constantly every two seconds.

"How far up ahead is he?" said Will, turning in his chair to look at Kate.

"Couple miles, maybe more," she shrugged back at him.

"How fast is he flying? Asked Will taking the tracker and examining it himself.

"Well, I say if airways had a speed limit he's breaking it," said Kate.

Big Guy's voice breaks over the intercom system.

"We got bogies! Guh-guh!"

Big Guy was piloting a secondary helicopter a few cliques behind them.

…they shouldn't have let Big Guy watch Top Gun…

"Bogies? I don't see any bogies!" said Henry checking out through the windows.

"Birds!" shouted Will.

"What?"

A flock of birds came up suddenly and shrieked in terror at the three of them.

"HOLY-!" Henry moved to steer out of their way.

They heard Big Guy's deep rumbling laugh over the intercom.

"Guh-guh! I told you there were bogies!" he laughed.

"Yah, flock of big ass birds straight ahead of you, would've been a bit more helpful!" barked Kate.

"Do we still have him on the tracker?" asked Will, trying to calm down from the sudden event.

"Yah, he's flying straight ahead," said Kate, trying to do the same.

"Where is Sparky going?" mumbled Will.

_~~~~EscCor HQ~~~~_

Helen finally heard a small click and the feeling of release against her wrist.

She smiled slightly and looked for an opening so she could get Nikola out before security was alerted.

She relaxed slightly and watched the room keenly for any opportunity to arise.

Jeffries was checking Nikola's stats and IV lines to make sure they were working efficiently.

Nikola's face contorted and shifted slightly in and out, he was mentally resisting the change, she could tell, Nikola had a strong-mind and would not give up easily, especially when it came to his survival.

His skin faded back and forth between the normal slightly pink, human tone, to the pale grey death-like hue and his claws constantly retracted.

Helen knew she had to act fast if she were to get him out in time.

"Excellent, you are coming along nicely Mr. Tesla, you're conversion should be complete in a day or so and then we can commence stage 3, Ms. Mongrove will be pleased," said Jeffries as he marked something's down on his clipboard.

Nikola let out a pained moan in response.

A monitor suddenly flashed with a video feed from Ms. Mongrove's office.

She stared into the room with piercing green eyes.

"How's progress Jeffries?" she asked sharply.

He jumped a little in surprise.

"Quite well, actually, he has a very strong-mind, but it's weakening, once it gives up control the full conversion should take less than a few hours, and his half-human body can't stand the strain for much longer, I say an hour maybe two," Jeffries input some data into the computer and sent it through the link.

"Excellent Jeffries, notif-"

The monitor screen went black and the rest of the power went with it, sending the whole room into darkness.

Helen took this as her chance and sprung up from her chair.

"M'am?" said Jeffries with a tone of concern and confusion.

Helen grabbed at a heavy object and hit him hard across the head.

He went down with a hard thump and a slight yelp. She could hear his team jump in fear at the sound, but blinded by the temporary blackout they couldn't identify the source of the cry.

Helen moved quickly to Nikola and removed the IV lines and restraints. She supported him with her weight and dragged him out of the room before the emergency back-up generator kicked in, leaving the team in even more fear and confusion.

The alarms ran in Helen's ears as she carried Nikola through the hallways as fast as she could.

The sound of hurried footsteps made her breath hitch in her throat and she pulled Nikola into the closest door and closed it behind her.

It was a small supplies closet, big enough for her to lay Nikola on the ground and check him over. He'd stopped convulsing and morphing in and out, so that was a good sign, but she had no idea about the changes the source blood may have already done to Nikola's system.

"Nikola…" she whispered cupping his face.

His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow.

"Nikola, wake up, if you can, wake up, I need you…"

**_~~~~Oxford 1884~~~~_**

_Helen walked up the cobbled street to the small Inn with a quick pace._

_The rain whipped at her face as she came up to the old oak door and knocked on it._

_An old lady answered the door frantically._

"_Ah, Ms. Magnus, I didn't know who to call, you are the only one I know of that he spends any amount of time with, and he's starting to scare my other patrons!"_

_The old Scottish woman closed and locked the door behind her._

"_He's been making the most frightful noises I've ever heard, I fear he is ill but he refuses anyone's entrance!"_

_Helen nodded and walked up the old staircase to the second floor._

_Some patrons had peaked out of their rooms to see what was all the commotion about, Helen told them to return to their rooms._

_She got to the last room at the end of the hall and heard the pained cries from the other side of the door; it sounded like he was being attacked by a vicious beast in there._

"_Nikola? It's Helen, let me in," she said gently._

"_Helen? No! Go away!" Nikola's voice sounded strained and fearful._

"_Nikola! What is going on in there?" she demanded._

"_Nothing! Just go away!" she heard a crash of something and shook her head and barged in._

"_Niko-…" she trailed off at the sight, the room had been torn apart, the curtains were in shreds, clothes thrown everywhere, bits of broken wine bottles and wine glasses everywhere, paper thrown or shredded, and in the middle of it all was Nikola._

_Not an inch of cloth on him, every muscle seemed to shake and shiver like there was liquid ice being poured into his veins, and red smears graced several areas, but there were no cuts or contusions she could see, so bruising, nothing._

_He lay huddled in the fetal position, hugging his knee to his chest; his face was hidden from hers._

"_God, Nikola, what happened?"_

_She knelt down beside his quivering body and laid a hand on his side._

_His trembling seemed to lessen at the contact._

"_Nikola, is there anything I can do to help? Tell me whats wrong," she said calmly._

"_I…I'm changing Helen, I'm changing into something and I can't stop, it's that blood, whatever it does, it's doing this to me!" he gasped out._

"_But we're fine, me, James, John, Nigel to some extent, we're all fine!" she bit her lip nervously. "Is your body rejecting the blood?" _

"_I don't think so Helen…I want you to leave, leave me now please!" he barked viciously._

"_Nikola, I'm here to help, let me!" she said assuredly._

"_You cannot help!" Nikolas voice deepened into something very unnatural._

_He sprung up and moved away from her, into a corner of the room, still keeping his face from her._

"_Nikola, whats wrong?" she followed tentatively._

"_Just leave!" he shouted again._

"_I won't! Not when you're like this!" she shouted back._

"_Please, I don't want to hurt you," he whimpered._

_She knelt in front of him and took his clammy hands in hers gently._

"_You won't."_

_She shivered slightly at how cold is hands were._

"_How can you say that when I look like this!" he turned his face and snarled at her._

_She jumped back at the sight, the claws, the fangs, and the dead, black eyes._

"_What are you Nikola?" she gulped._

"_I'M A MONSTER!" he screamed before crashing out of the window and away into the night._

**_~~~~Present~~~~_**

Kate pressed a few buttons on the tracker device.

"This is weird, Sparky has stopped flying, he's several miles out, but he's not flying, what is that guy doing?" she mumbled.

Will looked around at the ground below them.

"Well we've ceased being in Italy any more, judging by certain land markers I'd say we're just on the cusp of the French countryside."

"So what, we've just chased the little bugger around for 5 hours so he could stop in France and have a croissant with cheese? Because if so, I am going to beat the shi-" Kate started when the tracker went dead. "What? Oh no, no, no!"

She pressed buttons but no signal came on.

"What happened?" asked Will.

"The signal! It's completely gone!" she panicked.

"What did you do?" asked Will.

"Nothing! It just went bippity boppity beep then died!" she growled.

"There's only one explanation, Sparky is shooting an EM-pulse at something, it must've killed the tracking device on his leg," said Henry.

"What could he possibly be shooting at in the French country side! A big ass French bird?" Kate remarked.

" He is several miles out, my guess, wherever he is, it's just outside Paris, probably a facility of some sort, that where Magnus and Tesla must be!" said Will.

"Doesn't help us much, we have no idea where that is!" snapped Kate.

"Contact the Paris Sanctuary, Pierre might be able to help us!" Will looked at Henry who nodded in acknowledgement.

**_~~~~EscCor HQ~~~~_**

"_Do the pigeons talk to you?"_

"_Only when I let them."_

"_And do you?..."_

Helen shook Nikola once more and he stirred slightly than gasped awake, like he had stopped breathing.

"Helen!" he breathed out.

"I'm here!" she came to him and rested a hand lightly on his chest while she helped him sit up.

"Wha-what happened?" he looked around in confusion.

"I got us out of that lab, and you away from that blood!" she cupped his face. "I was so worried about you."

She kissed him lightly.

"I don't remember…" he sighed and rubbed his head.

"They tried to turn you into a full fledged vampire so they could steal every ounce of your blood and create an army of test tube soldiers for this insane peacemaking mission!" Helen felt a twinge of anger; humans enraged her with their selfishness sometimes.

"That sounds like a party," mumbled Nikola.

Helen sighed and took his hand gently.

"Are you alright?" she asked, turning the subject.

"I think so, I'm a little foggy, but no worse for wear," he shrugged.

"That's good, can you walk?" she stood up.

"Um, possibly, I don't know, I haven't tried," he said non-chalantly as he got up.

He stumbled a bit but quickly managed to stand without wavering like a reed in the breeze.

He gave her a thumbs up when he was stable.

Helen nodded and opened the door carefully and peaked out of it to see if the coast was clear.

There was no sight of security or scientists, so she opened the door a bit more and gingerly stepped out into the hallway, and Nikola came tumbling after.

Helen winced at the loud tromping and thud as Nikola went down like a sick elephant.

She rolled her eyes and helped him on to his feet.

"Could you make a little more noise, I don't think the people on the top floor heard you," she grumbled.

"You have been spending way to much time with the children, you are starting to develop an attitude!" he pointed back.

"Will you stop horsing around and help me find a way out of here? If we can get out of this building alive, and to the Paris Sanctuary without getting shelled full of bullets I would greatly appreciate it."

Nikola smiled his charmingly aggravating smile at her.

"We're in Paris, how romantic," he sighed and put his hand on his heart dramatically.

"Not now Nikola!" she hit him lightly and started walking down the hall.

He smirked and stumbled slightly before managing to walk right behind her.


	16. Chapter 16 Love & Corruption

Chapter 16 – Love & Corruption

_**~~~~Paris Sanctuary~~~~**_

Will, Kate, Henry, and Big Guy arrived at the Paris Sanctuary unscathed, parked the helicopters on the landing pad on top of the roof, and hurried made their way to the acting Head, Pierre.

He was a lean man, very French, but very kind, and aggravating flirtatious, almost more so than Nikola, except he held his affections mainly for Henry.

Though he wasn't quite human, he was a rare form for hermaphroditic abnormal that looked very much human on the outside, but had a very different interior design. The race had been mostly wiped out, especially in the more religious townships of the mid-1600s, Salem being reportedly one of the worst cases of this species extermination. A few misunderstandings and some scared Christians mistook this benign, yet cultural race, to be witches, yet there are witches, and there was Pierre's race. The differences between them would stifle any priest.

Pierre was one of the few that survived, he'd been living in the Sanctuary for longer than many people have been alive, and his spirit was brighter than most young souls that came across the old doors.

Notre dame, the original Sanctuary, as Helen loved to call it, home to one of the most famous abnormals in literature, Quasimodo, who, as Helen recalled, was much sweeter than portrayed in most films.

Apparently, her fathers earliest work with abnormals, when he was a young man, led him to France where he met a poet by the name of Victor Hugo, who helped him with the troubled Quasimodo, though the story itself, written by Hugo was highly fictionalized. Helen claimed that Victor was inspired by Quasi's unique view on life and love, that the story of the corrupt priest, the beautiful gypsy girl, the unfaithful soldier, and the court of miracles, just became a magical world for him to express his strong political and religious views in.

Though now, Notre Dame was more of public spectacle than a working and operational Sanctuary, but underneath it's beautiful towers and rose window, connected to the new Paris Sanctuary, a whole underground facility, making the Paris Sanctuary, the hardest to get to without getting a lot of angry French people on your case.

Will's taste for history bubbled a little knowing he was under the marveled landmark.

They entered into Pierre's office, in the underground facility.

Pierre smiled in greeting at the four of them.

"Ello! Bonjour! Will, Henry, Big Buy, girl I do not know but am charmed!" he exclaimed, opening his arms widely.

"Hey Pierre, as much as we'd love to stay and chat with you we are short on time," said Henry pulling out his tablet.

"Ah, what has Helen done now?" Pierre sighed and looked at the tablet. "EM pulses?"

He looked at them in confusion.

"Yah, it's a long story, but we need to know if there are any facilities just outside the city limits, anything you know about?" asked Will.

"Just the one the, eh, Escalibur Corporation, but they don't seem likely, they make training systems and tracking devices for the military, nothing genetic, nothing they'd kidnap Helen for."

Will groaned slightly; they'd reached another dead end, and they needed a lead quick.

"What about someone like Nikola Tesla? He's a walking magnet with a genius mind, they could've kidnapped him and used Helen as leverage," said Kate suddenly.

"It's better than nothing!" Will rang out of the room quickly and Kate and Big Guy followed.

"Oh, Henry, Helen has got you running around like rabbits, sometime you should just come here and relax, you…and me," Pierre smiled mischieviously.

Henry shifted uncomfortably.

"Thanks…that's a nice offer…but I don't get a lot of vacation time, the Doc kind of needs me to run things back home, so…maybe some other time…" Henry coughs awkwardly before waving slightly and chasing after the group.

**_~~~~EscCor HQ~~~~_**

Nikola rubbed his head and winced slightly.

"Nikola, are you alright?" asked Helen, she went up to him and felt his forehead. "You're burning up!"

"Probably just a small side effect of the source blood, I'll be fine, it's just a little headache and some overacting white blood cells, nothing I can't handle," he pushed her hand away.

"It could be worse than that, we don't know, all I know is that I need to get you out of here so I can get you under a scanner and see what the heck that blood is doing to you!" Helen cupped his face again. "It may be possible to fix it so that you can be immortal again."

He smiled slightly.

"Wouldn't that be something, living forever again, you and me, and the children makes three," he chuckled.

Helen rolls her eyes at him.

"Don't be cheeky, isn't immortality what you've been wanting all this time? Didn't you say you wanted your life back? Your heritage? I'd thought you'd be jumping up and down with glee," Helen looked into his eyes to try and see what was going on behind him, like Will said, he always has his own agenda, always able to pull the rug from under her.

"I thought it was what I wanted, I thought it was the only thing I had, my blood right, my ancestry, but what I really wanted, for a lot longer than I wanted to be a vampire, was you…I guess having the vampiric powers was just an excuse," he smiled slightly at her. "These last few days I haven't thought about anything else, but that I finally had what I'd wanted for a long time."

Helen smiled and tried not to blush, Nikola was an ass, but sometimes he was the most hopeless romantic in the world.

"That is the sweetest semi-stalker story I have ever heard," Helen giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Who's being cheeky now?" Nikola smirked and poked her.

Helen sighed and took his hand.

"Are you ok to keep going?" Nikola nodded in response and stood up straight and fell into step beside her.

**_~~~~Mongrove's Office~~~~_**

Laura paced frantically.

She had her people running every which way to figure out what happened to her systems, and to find her missing captives.

She couldn't figure out how they did it, how did they cause the main breaker to blow so badly, the damage was astounding, yet there was no explanation, no evidence of anyone sabotaging it, there wasn't even security camera footage of someone being in that area at that time. Either it was faulty wiring, or Nikola had managed to use his magnetic powers, despite all the strain.

Something wasn't adding up and it was driving Laura Mongrove insane!

No matter the cause, she still had one major problem, Tesla and Magnus had escaped, and she had to have them back. He had not completely converted and his blood was her most valuable asset.

It was going to change the tide of war, and the blood samples they had already taken from him were adequate for her army, but not perfect, and she was a stickler for perfection.

And where the hell was Dorian?

She heard the door open and she spun quickly to face whoever it was.

"We've searched all over, not a trace of them, we don't know where they are," said Dorian as he strode in quickly.

"Then check again, lock all exits! They aren't getting out of here alive!" she snarled angrily.

"But what about the experiment?" asked Dorian.

"We don't require him to be alive to extract his blood! That blood is more valuable than a thousand crates of gold bars at this point! I will not let him escape with it!" she turned and threw a paperweight into the big glass window, smashing it.

Dorian nodded and left the room.

Laura turned back to the smashed window and glared it.

She was not going to be defeated by a tricky vamp and his bitch. If she had to tear this building inside out, she would.


	17. Chapter 17 Countdown to Immortality

Chapter 17 – Countdown to Immortality

**~~~10~~~**

Helen and Nikola snuck down the halls stealthily. Managing to sneak past squad after squad of security officers and Docs. Nikola couldn't help but think how inefficient EscCor was at protecting itself from two people, maybe it was a good thing they weren't allowed to rule the world. First uprising that would occur and they wouldn't even be able to find their troops.

He chuckled slightly to himself at the thought.

"What was that about?" Helen guessed he had thought of some lewd thing between him and her, as always.

"Nothing, just thinking that if these people can't even find two escaped prisoners than how are they going to control the world, it's a rather amusing thought if you think about it," Helen rolled her eyes, so it wasn't lewd but it was still off topic.

"Can you focus, the only reason we haven't been caught is because we haven't let ourselves be caught," Helen pulled him along. "Now we need to keep moving!"

"I love it when you're forceful," he grinned. There was the lewd comment she was expecting; he was so predictable some times.

Helen sighed.

"Can you be serious for one minute?" she scowled and he still grinned.

"I am always serious," Helen turned away from him and sighed.

"Come now, Nikola, you are always making inappropriate comments-"

"WHA-!"

Helen spun around to see Nikola gone. She looked around and heard a strange small almost slurp like noise from around the corner. She wished she had her gun at this moment, not knowing what was behind this corner.

"Gah! Get off!" She heard Nikola's muffled cries.

She turned the corner and sighed in relief.

Sparky, dear loveable Sparky, had Nikola pinned under his paws and was licking Nikola to death like a dog who had just found his master.

Nikola squirmed trying to get from under the massive weight.

"Damn thing! Get off! Ack! Lick her!" he gasped and flailed helplessly.

Helen giggled.

"You have such a way with animals Nikola, it's astounding!" she covered her mouth to stifle the sound.

"What can I say, they are just drawn to me!" he sighed. "Okay, off, off, OFF!"

Sparky finally obeyed and sat on his haunches happily.

"Atleast now we know who caused the power outage," said Nikola as he got up, wiping whatever imaginary dirt he believed was on there.

"And aren't we glad of it. How did he find us?" Helen patted Sparky's head thankfully.

"Sparky and I are connected some way, he must've followed my signal all the way here, the smart fellow!" Nikola also patted Sparky's head and in return got a huge wet licking.

"Yes, very smart indeed, but how did he make it out of the Sanctuary?" Helen looked confused.

"I don't know; he broke a window?" Nikola mumbled.

"My sanctuary better still be in working condition when we get back," glared Helen.

"Will it matter if we survive?" asked Nikola.

"Not to me, but I'm sure you'll find the couch quite cold and uncomfortable," Helen leered at him playfully.

"If that is true, I blame you," Nikola glared at Sparky and he lowered his ears.

Helen walked on with Nikola and Sparky following behind her quietly.

"Now if we keep going like this we'll be gone and far away from here before they even know we've lef-" Nikola suddenly felt a surge of electricity and fell to the ground limply.

Helen spun around and Sparky hissed but both were hit and joined Nikola on the floor.

"Take them to Ms. Mongrove, make sure their binds are tight, especially the vamps!" Dorian came out of the shadows with his men.

They put special metal braces on Helen and Nikola's hands, and picked up the strange new creature.

"Cage it!" ordered Dorian.

**_~~~~Somewhere in Paris~~~~_**

Kate drove the rental car they had loaned from the Paris Sanctuary down the Parisan streets, her hands gripping the wheel tightly.

"So let me get this straight, we are heading to this EscCor Facility to see if they have any recent infestations in the form of an 160 year old english woman, her ex-vamp boyfriend and an overgrown kitty with a mean bite, how do you propose we go by that? "How can we help you at EscCor?" "Ah yes we heard you have kidnapped our boss and her boytoy, we sent his flying EM-pulse emitting pet to find them, you wouldn't happen to know where they are?" Why yes, they are having tea and biscuits in the main office, go right in!" Good plan, dudes, solid!" she remarked bitterly.

"Look, I used to work for the cops as a Forensic Psychiatrist, I know how to read people, if something is up, I'll know," said Will, semi confidently.

"Well if you ask me you are getting a little rusty sniffer dog, because you sure didn't know that the Doc and Dracula were shacking up! Excuse me if I am not completely assured of your skills!" Kate retorted.

Will fell silent for a moment.

"That was different, Magnus is good at hiding things, and Nikola…Nikola is like reading a book written in a dead language, you know, hidden agenda and all, I wasn't looking it, completely isolated incident," Will rolled his eyes and held on tightly as Kate almost hit a car.

"Get out of the way Gaston!" shouted Kate.

"You know, Kate does have a point, you have been getting a little rusty with the freaky psycho noticing thing, I think Doc's had you working too much in extraction," smirked Henry.

Big Guy grunted in agreement.

"It was an isolated incident! I've not lost it!" laughed Will, a twinge of doubt coloring his protest.

"Face it, Will, you've lost your mojo," sighed Henry, patting a consoling hand on Will's back.

"Lost my what?" Will raised an eyebrow at the term 'mojo'.

"Like my mojo is tech, Big Guy's is cleaning, Kate is shooting people, Doc is well…doc-ing, and Nikola's is…well the Doc," Henry tried not to laugh.

"What? Wait…I haven't lost my mojo, I've still very much got it, it was just one isolated incident, it's not like they left a lot of clues, I haven't caught them playing footsies with each other, and they ran off to Rome before I could put the pieces together, and half of it was just speculation, we all know Nikola loves to tell stories."

"I had a suspicion they were closer than they appeared, and you brushed it off, I was right, therefore, mojo is lost," said Henry smugly.

"That is not proof of anything!" Will said defensively.

"Excuse me, Police, I'd like to report a lost mojo," joked Kate, dodging more Paris traffic.

"That's not funny," grumbled Will.

"Says you, to us, it's damn-hecka funny!" laughed Henry.

Will pouted slightly before receiving a playful smack in the back of the head from Big Guy.

**_~~~~EscCor HQ~~~~_**

Helen woke up tied to yet another chair, except this time her bonds were much tighter.

Behind her was an equally tied Nikola, still unconscious, his breathing making his chest rise slowly, and his head was drooped on to his left shoulder.

Helen looked around again and saw Sparky stuck in a very strong metal cage, he was tied to one of the bars by a restraint of some sort, similar to the titanium webbing she had back at her sanctuary for restraining vamps.

She smirked slightly thinking about what Nikola would have to say about that…probably something dirty.

She shook the thought away and continued searching around the room.

"It's nice to see you up Dr. Magnus, you eluded capture quite expertly, I must say, until you got caught, but I'd blame that on your little friend."

Laura Mongrove smiled over at Sparky then back at Helen.

"As you can see, I'm determined you won't do it again," Laura sneered and her eyes glared with the insanity of obsession.

Helen had seen that look many times. She saw it in Winston's eyes when he muttered the words victory at any cost during WWII, seen it in James' eyes when he was determined to solve the Jack The Ripper case back in London, and she had seen it in Nikola's eyes, when he had held her captive in the catacombs in Rome three years ago. The desperate desire he had to make her see whole scheme from his perspective. She never forgot that look. In that moment when he had lost it and raised his voice at her; the fear that rose in her, it was not the Nikola she knew and loved staring at her. She had seen that look in Nikola's eyes many times, to varying degrees, like when he was working on the AC generator to win the Battle of The Currents, and nights ago when she found him in his lab drunk with sorrow.

She didn't like this look, not on Nikola, not on anybody. This look meant bad things, that no matter what she could say, or how much proof she could provide on the dangers of the consequences, the look meant that they could not be wavered.

This look burned in Laura's eyes like a bonfire and Helen felt a twinge of helplessness.

"Nikola is not the answer! Fear is not the answer!" Helen tried desperately.

"The only way to control people is through fear, fear of the unknown, with my army they will linger in trepidation, fearing the day some one does something stupid and my army is cast down upon them, they will wait, and through waiting they will lose the will to fight each other! Can't you see how beautifully simple that is!"

"_You and I could usher in a new golden age of thought, and culture, and peace!"_

"_You're mad Nikola."_

"_NO!"_

The words rang through Helen's memory as she watched Laura pace madly in front of her.

"It won't work! People don't sit and behave when they're afraid, they lash out! You will cause chaos to erupt beyond your control!" said Helen firmly.

"_The Philadelphia experiment was mad, but this, this is progress!"_

Helen bit her lip as she watched Laura smolder.

"That's where you're wrong!" Laura glared, her teeth grinding.

"…_abnormals are on the rise, and now we just need somebody to lead them."_

"_You?"_

"_Us."_

"With your help, Dr. Magnus, don't you see, you could play a key part in releasing the world from all this pain and suffering! Through fear, yes, but not always by fear, fear is just the jumpstart to a new golden age!" cried Laura.

"A new what?" Helen snapped to the present suddenly.

Helen looked over to Nikola.

This plan, was just like Nikola's had been in Rome three years ago, the same plan, just a different method. Nikola had given up that plan after the small hiccup with the 'De-Vamper' his entire focus since then was just to make himself a vamp again, let alone other people, and now that she had let him into her heart, that he had, as he claimed, what he'd always wanted, was he going to return to his course of action, or had he ceased to care.

Helen felt a rising fear.

"_The man comes with a hidden agenda, every time!"_

Her protégé's words ran clear through her head.

What was his hidden agenda this time? Was it her? Or was it something else?

She bit her lip again nervously.

What was going through the man's head? What was her love dreaming about?

**_~~~9~~~_**

**_Oxford 1884_**

_Helen ran as fast as her heeled boots would take her._

_The scream could be heard from miles away, and James had almost immediately called her to the scene of a dead woman, her face cold and dead pale, her eyes open in a permanent state of fear._

_Helen knelt down next to the body and James had shown two prominent puncture marks on her neck right along the corotted artery. _

_He had muttered something about her being exsanguinated, them sharing a moment of understanding, then he left to twist the discovery into a much more colorful story for Scotland Yard._

_She had left the scene in a hurry, running to the only place she knew he'd be, he had to be there._

_After discovering what the blood had done to Nikola, she had told the others, and they had kept watch for any unusual happenings. _

_There was no doubt in Helen's mind that the Source Blood had turned Nikola into a vampire. She and her father had researched as much as they could on the abnormals, and as much as she could on her own dear friend. Both left many questions to be answered. _

_She ran faster, lifting up her skirts so she could move more comfortably._

_She stopped in front of the gates of the park, breathing heavily, her chest heaving, the bottom of her dress forgotten and torn. She walked through the soaking rain, not even noticing the chill._

_He was there, sitting at the bench, just like when they had first met, his hair wild and soaked, his body trembling._

_She walked up carefully, watching him, he sat unmoving, except the tremors from his shaking body, but he didn't move to make himself warmer. His hands sat limply at his sides._

"_Nikola?" she went up to him and turned his face to hers._

_His eyes seemed lost and fearful._

"_D-did I hurt someone?" he whimpered, leaning into her hand._

"_It wasn't you're fault," she said calmly, stroking his cheek._

"_I didn't mean to…I just couldn't stop myself…forgive me, Helen," she felt his hot tears mingle with the cold rain._

"_It's ok Nikola, I'm here, I'm going to make you better," she draped an arm around his shivering body and held him close._

_He collapsed into the embrace pitifully. His sobs fell silent against her shoulder._

_He felt cold all over, and his skin was covered in goose-pimples. _

_This small man wasn't her friend; not the proud, strong, arrogant Nikola Tesla, who sat with her in the back of the classes in Oxford, made little trinkets for her out of pieces of scrap metal that he found, who spoke to pigeons like they were long lost friends._

_She wanted her Nikola back._

_She undid her cloak and removed it and draped it over him to protect his dignity and modesty. _

"_Come on Nikola, let's get you home."_

_She helped him up and led him out of the park back to the small Inn._

"_Do the pigeons talk to you…"_

**_~~~~Present~~~~_**

"_Only when I let them…"_

"_And do you…"_

"_Yes…"_

Nikola awoke with a start, his eyes blinking into focus. He looked around and saw the scientists wheel in computers and technology, and other things in metal crates. They were setting it up all around him.

He winced at the sudden throb in his head and moved his head lazily to the other side where he saw Helen's shoulder propped up against the back of his.

He sighed painfully and opened his mouth to speak, but it came out more of a strained gasp.

"Helen?" he choked out.

"Nikola! Don't move," she turned her head to look at him as best she can.

He groaned and nodded.

He felt something in his arm and looked down to see IV lines sticking into his veins.

"Well that explains the headache," Nikola mumbled to himself.

He lolled his head to the other side. It felt heavy and foggy, most likely due to whatever sedative they gave him, there was nothing flowing through the IV lines, yet.

He had a pretty good guess what would be occupying his veins very soon.

He eyed the clear bag of deep red liquid hanging beside him.

These guys were relentless.

He leaned his head against the back of Helen's shoulder.

"What's your plan this time?" he whispered into her ear.

She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know," she looked around, her lips suddenly curled into a smile when she saw an abandoned cell-phone lying on the desk, they obviously forgot about Nikola's magnetic ability. "Hey, look over there."

She jerked her head in the direction of the phone.

His eyes lazily roamed over but perked up when he saw the small object.

"That's my girl," he smirked and lightly pressed a quick kiss to the side of her neck. "I'll use what I have to bring it over, but you need to dial.'

She nods.

He concentrates and lifts up his hand as much as he could, while she kept a look out for the other scientists, to make sure they weren't watching.

The cellphone starts twitching on the table before shooting off it and into the palm of his hand

"Ok, I got it," he whispered to her.

"Good job Nikola."

He rested his head back on her shoulder.

"It's stuck," muttered Helen.

"What?" he muttered back.

"The phone is stuck to your hand," she pokes his wrist.

"Oh, that happens sometimes, you're just going to have to dial like that," he sighed.

"And you can't?" asked Helen.

"If you knew how much energy it took to bring the phone over here, you'd be nicer," he sighed again.

"Ok, but you need to help, can you see the numbers?" Helen reached her head over her shoulder. "Because I can't."

He groaned slightly and shifted his head.

"Yep I can see them."

"Alright tell me when my finger is on the number 8…"

"Ok."

**_~~~~EscCor Parking Lot~~~~_**

Kate parked the car in the guest parking lot of the Escalibur Corporation facility, it was a decently big building, very new looking compared to its background; like a glass tower sticking up in a field of green and trees.

"This is it?" asked Henry.

"According to Pierre's directions," said Will.

"What else would be in the middle-of-french-nowhere?" muttered Kate.

"Watch the car, Big Guy, we'll call you if we need you," said Will which got a grunt in response.

"Ok, so do we have any cover on why three American tourists are visiting an out of the way facility in France?" asked Kate.

"We're young American reporters doing an article on companies making a profit on war and we want an interview," suggested Will.

"That's good, it will at least explain our presence there," said Henry.

"See, mojo is not gone," stated Will triumphantly.

"No, it's still gone, you're just not completely useless," joked Henry, and Will scoffed walking faster.

He felt a different texture in the ground and looked down to see a bunch of broken glass scattered along on the pavement.

"Hey guys, check this out!" he waved over Henry and Kate.

They walked over.

"Look at all this broken glass, it looks like it matches the glass of this building."

"Yah, or a part of a glass wine bottle, what does it matter?" asked Kate.

"No, there's evidence, no wine residue, or that one little bit of the bottom that never breaks entirely, besides the fall patterns all wrong, it's all over, a smashed bottle wouldn't travel this far," Will pointed at the shards. "And these pieces are too small, bottles never smash this finely."

"Dude, you're trying to hard," smirked Henry.

Henry and Kate turned and laughed at Will heading to the main entrance doors.

Will sighed and followed disappointedly.

They entered into the main lobby and walked up to the main reception desk.

"Hello, welcome to EscCor, how can I help you?" said the rehearsed receptionist.

"Hey, we're from the…uh…Colonial Sun in…Waco, Texas, we're doing an article about companies that have contracts with the military, like this one, I'm Jeremiah, and these are my colleagues Marabelle and Clyde," Will said calmly to the receptionist, who barely blinked through the whole conversation.

"Do you have an appointment Mr. Jeremiah?"

"Uh, Willows, Jeremiah Willows, and yes we called about making an interview," lied Will easily.

"Ok," she turns to the monitor on her computer screen and shakes her head, "I don't have you booked, sir."

"What? That's ridiculous, I called yesterday, didn't I call Clyde?" Will turned to Henry.

"Uh, yah, yesterday…" said Henry stupidly.

"Well I have nothing," said the receptionist.

"Look, I made an appointment, I talked to someone, we had booked an interview, this is unbelievable!" Will acted all frustrated.

"Can you call up your little boss and tell her we're here, or you know, do your job!" said Kate playing along.

"This has got to be a joke, if you didn't want to talk to us you didn't have to book the appointment, but we have all our gear here, and we're all prepared!" Will flailed his arms dramatically.

"Fine, excuse me for a moment," she got up and went to the elevator.

As soon as she was gone they dropped the pissy reporter act.

"Clyde?" asked Henry.

"I was improvising," defended Will.

"Well I commend you, you should go on Whose Line Is It Anyway," smirked Kate as she pulled out her gun.

"Whoa, what's with the firearms Rambo!" said Henry.

"I always come prepared, if it turns out this place is full with a bunch of badies, I don't want to be caught with my pants down," Kate put the gun back into the waist of her jeans.

Will rolled his eyes and looked around for any clues.

Henry heard something bleep suddenly and took out his phone.

"I just got a text message," he said a little surprised.

"Is Pierre asking you out for croissants and cheese dip?" joked Kate.

"No, it's just three letters, SOS…it's got to be from the Doc, though I don't recognize the number…" said Henry.

"Does it matter? Can you track the signal?" asked Will.

"Definitely, not here though, I need some kind of computer mainframe, I left my tablet in the car, give me 10 minutes, we'll find them!" Henry ran out of the lobby and back out to the parking lot.

__**8**__

Nikola sighed.

"Did that work?" he eyed the scientists booting up their computers.

"I think so, if Henry is smart, and I know he is, he'll find a way to track it and find us," said Helen.

"Yes, but they real question is, will it be too late?" he looked at his specially restrained arm with the IV lines.

He found it weird how they decided to tie him, one hand behind his back restrained to the chair, while other restrained out front, usually they chose one method or the other, like with Helen's restraints (both hands tied behind back).

Helen sighed as well.

"I don't know, Nikola, though it would be ironic…" she mumbled, half to herself.

"What?" he shifted his head.

"Nothing, it's just…you've been pursuing the source blood to re-vamp yourself, and now you're about to die because of it, it's ironic," she shrugged.

"Are you going to bring up every mistake I've ever made, because if we're going to play that game may I mention whose big idea it was to turn the source blood into a serum in the first place," he chided back.

"We all decided to do it, and back then it was for science, it was you who decided to revive your race, and give everyone the bright idea about using it to take over the world!" she tried to elbow him.

"If you would've decided to marry me instead of Jack The Ripper, maybe that wouldn't have happened!" he bit back.

"Maybe if you had asked!" she growled in response.

"I really wish I could kiss you right now," he caught her off-guard, she could practically see the cheeky smile splayed across his face.

"Oh Nikola," she rolled her eyes, glad he couldn't see the slight smile across her own face. If she was going to die today, she knew Nikola would be waiting for her on the otherside. What kind of trouble could the two of them get into in the afterlife? Probably the same amount they got into down here.

She stretched her fingers to lightly touch the palm of his hand. His fingers closed over hers in an awkward hold, but the contact comforted the both of them.

"_Come on Helen, I don't feed on humans, I made that vow long ago and I intend to keep it."_

Helen's smile faltered slightly.

Why had that thought come into her head?

"_You haven't stopped taking your medication, have you?"_

She looked over at Nikola who had returned to resting his head on her shoulder.

"Nikola?" he grunts in recognition. "How do you feel?"

"Aside form the bongo drummer in my head I feel like a peach, why?" he mumbled.

"I mean are you feeling…hungry?" she asks carefully, fearful of his answer.

"Well, due to the fact that we skipped breakfast, and then those stupid goons wouldn't let me near the conference snack table, I could eat, again I ask, stupidly, why?" he shifts his head and cranes his neck so he was staring at, at least part of, her face.

"Nothing, just a thought," Helen said, shaking her head slightly.

"Are you making dinner reservations?" asked Nikola.

"No, it was, well you're a vampire again, the first time you were turned into a vampire you had the bloodlust, and you've been given a much bigger dose, I was just asking," Helen turned her head and kissed his forehead.

"That is a good question, I don't know, my brain is so fuzzy, I can't tell what's going on in here," he chuckled lightly.

"Must be from whatever sedative they gave you," Helen thought out loud.

He mumbled something in agreement.

**_~~~~EscCor Front Foyer~~~~_**

Will heard his phone bleep.

He took it out of his pocket and lifted it to his ear.

"Talk to me, Henry," he said calmly.

"The signal came from the building, I'm starting to think you're broken glass theory wasn't so silly after all, I'm going to go take some samples, maybe I can find where the glass came from, it might lead us to where they are being held," came Henry's voice over the phone.

"Good work, Henry!" said Will.

"Are we in the right place?" asked Kate.

Will nodded.

He hung up the phone just as the receptionist came in.

"I'm sorry, my boss informs me she had no scheduling made for an interview, I don't know what happened," she sat down at her desk.

"Really? That's a real shame, we were hoping to get her opinions, but I guess we'll just have to write her down for refusing to speak on the matter, I hope it doesn't harm business figures," Will bluffed.

"Why don't I take you on a short tour of the building and we'll see if we can squeeze you in for a short interview once she's done," the receptionist stood up.

"That could work," Will looked over at Kate and she nodded back.

"Come this way," the receptionist walks to the elevator and they follow behind her.

**~~~7~~~**

Laura Mongrove and Dorian walked into the makeshift lab. The generator was not powerful enough to power the whole buildings operations, and not everything could be shut down, solely for this operation, at least this way she could keep an extra careful eye on her most valuable asset.

She watched the two of them sitting in the middle of the room, it was taking longer than necessary to set up the system so they could continue on with the treatment to make Mr. Tesla completely vampiric. It was a necessity that this stage be completed, but that didn't stop her from taking a generous blood sample in case worse comes to worse and they escaped again.

Either way she would have a vicious army at her disposal, but why settle for second best when the best can still be achieved.

"How was your rest? I presume it was refreshing," she smirked as the two of them turned to look at her.

"It would've been better without the drugs and needles, but what can you do?" muttered Nikola bitterly.

"I don't see why you're bitter, isn't this what you've wanted? The revival of your race!" exclaimed Laura.

"This isn't revival, you are turning them into an army of mindless monsters! That is not what I want! That is not what anybody wants!" he growls.

"Of course you take your girlfriends side, you've been pining for her affections for a century, despite your brilliance you are weak just like any man," Nikola bared his teeth at her.

"Stop it! You have no right to make judgements on us!" cried Helen.

"Helen, always the reasonable one, but probably the most irrational of us all! You put the worlds safety on the line constantly and no one ever raises their finger to punish you!" fumed Laura.

"That is not true! I am not exempt from suffering, same as everyone else!" Helen bit back.

Nikola looked down sadly. Helen had surely received her punishments for trying to protect this world. Losing so many people, having her heart repeatedly twisted out from her chest and crushed. First it was John, then it was Ashley, and even, to a smaller extent, himself. She was doomed to always be losing someone.

He desperately wanted to fix that. He wanted to be her constant companion, so she would never be alone ever again.

If they made it out of this, still intact, and he still a vampire, they could go back, two immortals facing the world together.

He still kept his long fingers wrapped tightly around hers, refusing to let go.

"It's no matter, you will help me in my cause whether willing or not!" snarled Laura.

"I'll go with not, and see how you like it," Nikola's tone was sarcastic and snide, and Helen smiled in agreement.

Laura growled at them and went to stand beside Jeffries. His head was bound with a bandage, where Helen had hit him.

He swallowed some ibuprofen and continued setting up the system.

"How's it coming, Jeffries?" she asked, eyeing him carefully.

"Almost there, Miss Mongrove, we're running the final system diagnostics, then we'll be able to start with the treatment," he nervously looked up at her.

"Good, call me when we're ready, I have some pesky reporters to shake of my tail!" she strode out of the room.

"Reporters?" mumbled Helen.

**~~~6~~~**

Henry and Big Guy snuck around the east side of the building and saw an abandoned rig that window washers use to clean glass buildings like this.

Obviously the washer comes by frequently, or the rig wouldn't be left there, possibly the man was on his lunch break.

They snuck on to the platform of the rig and turned the key to start it.

The rig hummed to life and Henry took out his sidearm before moving the platform up the side of the tall building.

"Oh crap, I forgot I don't like heights," mumbled Henry as they slowly ascended upwards.

Big Guy laughed in his throat.

"Just don't look down," he muttered and crouched down, keeping his head low as they passed the large glass windows.

"Easy for you to say," Henry winced and looked away from the railing.

They looked through the windows and saw a few people, but no one paid much attention to them.

They reached one of the upper floors and peered in seeing Helen and Nikola tied together in the middle of the room. Nikola had wires and lines attached to him, and seemed very pale…well, more pale than usual.

Henry ducked low next to Big Guy so that he was just underneath the sight of the window.

He peeked overtop of it and Helen suddenly caught his eye.

With a soft smile, she signaled with one hand and expressive eye gestures to stay low and out of sight, and when the time comes to get them the heck out of there.

Maybe not in so many words, but Henry got the jist of it and re-ducked beneath the window line.

Nikola felt Helen's hand moving and looked over to see what she was doing.

"Do you have a hand cramp?" he asked rather pointedly.

"I think our luck just changed, love," she whispered with a hint of a smile on her breath.

She jerked her head at the window and Nikola saw Henry and Big Guy peeking from the window.

"What clever little children" Nikola smirked widely.

"Henry will never believe you called him clever," smirked Helen.

"Good, it will keep him humble," said Nikola.

"Do you still have the phone stuck to your hand?" she asked.

"Indeed, I do, why?" he sighed.

"Because now that we know they are here, we can send them the signal to get us out of here at the proper time, give me your hand!" she whispered excitedly and pried her fingers out of his grip and felt for the phone.

Nikola flinched a little.

"That wasn't my hand…" he smirked and she rolled her eyes, even when close to death he was cheeky, I guess she couldn't expect any less.

That pretty much sums up Nikola Tesla: eternally incorrigible.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Will and Kate walked behind the receptionist who pratted on about the companies newest innovations with military technology, and Kevlar vest, yadda-yadda-yadda.

Kate found it hard not to suppress her yawns, while Will paid close attention to everything.

Suddenly Will's phone bleeped.

The receptionist stopped talking and stared at him oddly.

"Excuse me, it's probably my editor wanting confirmation on our story, I'll be right with you," he lied coolly and stepped away from Kate and the receptionist. Once he heard the receptionist continue talking he took out his phone and read the text message from Henry.

_THEY'RE HERE. 13__TH__ FLOOR. EAST SIDE. BE QUICK._

Will slipped his phone back into his pocket and returned to Kate.

"They're here, on the 13th floor, we need to ditch the guide and get there," whispered Will into Kate's ear.

"Allow me," Kate cracked her knuckles, she was just about ready to shut this woman up.

"Don't make too much of a mess," mumbled Will.

She nodded and took out her gun and loaded it with a tranquilizer dart before shooting the woman in the back with it and dragging her to the nearest door and shutting her behind it.

"13th floor you say? Ok, let's do it!" she dangled the elevator keys in front of Will and jogged down the hallway to the elevator.

_**~~~5~~~**_

Dorian stood at his post completely stoic. He moved his head when he heard Laura call him.

"What is going on with the reporters?" she demanded.

"Well, it's safe to say they aren't reporters, we've lost video feeds on their location, and Marcy isn't responding anymore," he pointed to the fuzzy screens.

"It's Magnus' people! Why did we not know this sooner?" she shouted.

"The system is completely down, we've only managed to get some systems working again, like the security feeds and the lab upstairs. We couldn't research the database!" he shouted back.

She growled.

"Damn that blasted creature of theirs! That cage will hold him, right?" she glared at him.

"It should, Jeffries said that the shielding should keep any EM-pulses from blasting again, of course Jeffries is only as good as his word," he stated.

She nodded. This operation was teetering on failure, and she did not like it. She hated failing, especially at things so vital as this cause. She swore under her breath; it was that darned woman, she had underestimated the perseverance of Helen Magnus, and she was paying for it.

She turned to Dorian.

"Detain them, I will not let anymore of Helen's damned team ruin this mission!" she turned on her heel and walked briskly to the lab.

"Just in time, Ms. Mongrove, I have the treatment all prepped and ready, just waiting for the green light," he stood proudly by his team.

"Yes, yes, go!" she eyed the two of them coldly.

He pressed a button and the red liquid hanging in the medicine bag slowly descended down the clear tubes, twisting around till it reached the end; Nikola.

He breathed in sharply as the vicious blood entered into his system. He exhaled just as sharply, and Helen's heart pumped faster.

He let go of her fingers and jerked wildly behind her.

Helen's eyes immediately darted to the window, searching for Henry's eyes. Nikola had the phone, the text message was ready to be sent, but with him convulsing so wildly, she couldn't get to his hand to press the right button.

She needed Henry, or Big Guy to look up, to burst in and shock them all. To get Nikola out of harms way before it did irreparable damage.

She reached behind her for his tied hand that was clenching and unclenching as his claws retracted in and out. She had to try. She reached for the phone stuck to his palm and managed to press a button on it, she prayed it was the right one.

Unfortunately, Nikola's constantly retracting claws managed to catch her and give her a deep cut along the palm.

"What just happened? What did you just do?" growled Laura.

She glared at Jeffries.

"Stop the treatment! Do it Now!" he nodded and pressed some keys on his keyboard stopping the flow of the source blood into Nikola's system.

She marched up to the two of them and pulled the chairs they were tied to apart.

She saw the small cell phone attached to the palm of Nikola's hand and turned beet red.

"Whose is this?" she looked at the team.

Jeffries tentatively looked around, no one raised their hand.

"Do you know what you have done! They contacted their people! You have just ruined the world's chance at salvation!" she cried.

At that moment, the window smashed open and Big Guy and Henry climbed into the room shooting tranquilizers darts at the scientists, who went down quickly.

Laura managed to dodge the assault and flee the room.

Henry went up to Magnus.

"Hey Doc, having a nice vacation?" he smiled cheekily.

"I've had better," she laughed in response, "Good timing by the way."

"I got your message," he untied her bonds and Helen shook her wrists to restore blood flow.

"Help Nikola!" she looked at Big Guy who grunted in response and went over to the now unconscious vamp and removed his restraints and threw the thin man over his shoulder.

"Where is Will and Kate?" asked Helen.

"They're somewhere in the building, I don't know where," said Henry.

"Wait…if you're all here, who is running the Sanctuary?" she looked at the two of them, "You did leave someone in charge, did you?"

"Of course we did, we left Two-Faced Guy in charge for a few hours till Declan could step in, he says congratulations by the way, he always knew you would end up with Vamp boy," smirked Henry.

"Oh, you found out about that, did you?" she felt the twinge of a blush blossom on her cheeks.

"Yah, and though I don't agree with your taste in guys, I'm happy for you," he gave her a soft smile which she returned.

"Thank you," she looked at Big Guy who grunted in disgust but shrugged.

She laughed.

"He only messed up your kitchen once, I'll make him apologize once we get out home," he grunted again and started walking out of the room carrying Nikola on his back.

Helen turned to Sparky and let him out of the cage.

"Let's go home, Sparky, you've earned yourself a whole basket of fish for your help," Sparky purred happily and rubbed his head affectionately along her waist like a cat.

"Yah, I second that, but first we have to get Will and Kate and get out of here, I've already contacted Pierre, he's bringing a team and a helicopter, they should be on the roof shortly," Henry hands her a tranq-gun.

"Good work, Henry," they ran out to join Big Guy in the hall, will Sparky a hairs breadth behind them.

**~~~4~~~**

Will dodged a bullet whizzing past his ear and ducked into a doorway, Kate following shortly afterwards.

"Whoa, I think we've been found out!" she shoots more tranquilizer darts at the small squad firing at them.

"Either that or they really don't like people using their elevators," said Will, he breathed heavily from the mad dash.

"How are we going to find the Doc and Von Creeper with that tail?" asked Kate as she leaned around and shot more at the swarming guards.

"I don't know, I'm hoping Henry will work a little magic on that one," said Will.

Kate nods and dodges the flair of bullets flying down the hallway.

The room shook suddenly as an invisibly force moved past the two of them, sheltered in the doorway, and into the armada.

It nearly knocked them into the each other, and Kate's arm went flying around Will's waist.

Will looked down at her arm, which she moved almost as quickly as it had moved there.

"Umm," she coughed awkwardly.

"What the hell was that?" Will changed the subject quickly.

They peeked from behind the wall.

The guards were splayed out unconscious down the hallway and then Sparky landed in front of them.

"Sparky?" Will blinked.

"Hot damn, good job Sparkster!" Kate smirked and patted Sparky on the head.

"William! Kate!" they looked over and saw Helen, Henry, and Big Guy running to meet them.

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to do the rescuing," smirked Henry.

"Well, we had a little trouble with the 13th floor welcoming party," Will joked back.

He looked at Helen.

"Good to see you alive and well, Magnus," he said smiling at her.

"You as well, good to know you guys can read a text message," she took a moment to catch her breath.

"How's Tesla?" he looked at the man hanging limply off of Big Guy's shoulders.

"Guh! Heavy!" muttered Big Guy.

Helen laughed a bit.

"He's alive and revamped and cocky as ever," she patted his head lightly.

"They revamped him?" Will looked at Nikola curiously.

"Yes, it's a long story, one I'd be glad to tell once we're safe at the Paris Sanctuary," said Helen.

"Yah, we need to get to the roof," Henry pointed upwards.

"Lead the way," said Will.

Another bullet whizzed by them and they looked behind to see Dorian standing amidst the unconscious guards

"This way!" Henry pointed down the hall and they all ran to get away from their assailant.

_**~~~~Mongrove's Office~~~~**_

Laura grabbed the small handgun from her desk drawer.

She was not going to let that blood leave, if she had to shoot every last one of Magnus's team to get to him, she would. She was not going to let them ruin her plans!

Her eyes blazed with desperation and anger.

She moved from her office and swiftly down the hall.

"There was only one way to go, and that was up," she ran quickly and hit the emergency button causing all the lower levels to lock down.

Hopefully she could trap them before they got any higher.

**~~~3~~~**

Helen and her team picked up speed as an alarm ran out through the halls and doors started to magnetically lock and sectional barriers started lowering slowly.

"It's like Indiana Jones without the humongous boulder!" shouted Will as he ran.

"Keep running, we have to get to the stairwell before we're sealed in!" Helen dodged another bullet from Dorian who was running steadfastly behind them.

Nikola's head wobbled and banged against Big Guy's back as he ran. Helen tried not to watch but her lips curled into a slight smile watching her lover's head repeatedly bounce like a wet sock off of Big Guy hard spine. Apparently this was Big Guy's form of payback, because he was making no effort to stop Nikola from flopping like a rag doll.

Kate turned behind them and shot again at Dorian, catching him in the knee causing him to stop and pull out the dart.

"He's going to be feeling that in a few seconds," she smirked and kept running.

Dorian shook the whooziness out of his head and stumbled slightly before resuming the chase.

Henry saw the red exit sign ahead and ran even faster to reach it and hold it open as they ran to catch up.

The barriers were lowering even faster and Will found himself having to duck under them, as with the rest of the group.

Helen winced as she heard a loud thud come from behind her; Nikola's skull had bumped into the edge of the barrier as Big Guy ducked under it.

"I know you don't like him but I'd appreciate if you'd save some brain cells in that head," she looked at Big Guy as she was running.

He grunted in laughter.

Will leaped into the safety of the stairwell and used the railing to support himself as he caught his breath, Kate came running in afterwards and leaned against the wall. Helen and Big Guy ducked under another barrier, they were getting much lower and Helen feared being trapped, and Big Guy resorted to dragging Nikola by the foot so he wouldn't get beheaded.

Helen ran and then slid under the last barrier into the stairwell like a professional baseball player and Big Guy swung the arm holding Nikola forward and Nikola came sliding/rolling under the barrier as Big Guy did the same maneuver as Helen and got into the stairwell just as the last barrier went down and Henry jumped into the stairwell as the door magnetically locked behind him.

"Nothing like a light jog to start the day, right?" said Helen through her breaths.

"Oh yah, nothing like a good cardio-vascular exercise," said Will.

They all laughed in relief, the tension from the run easing itself away.

_Do the pigeons talk to you?_

_Yes…_

Nikola groaned and stirred.

The laughter faded as he shifted from his position, he had managed to end up face first, open mouthed, on the floor with his legs twisted beneath him.

He groaned again lifted his sore head from the cold tile.

"Why does my head feel like someone tried to play cricket with it?" mumbled Nikola, half-awake.

Helen smirked at the prominent skid burn running from his chin to his right cheek to his forehead.

It was raw and red, and Helen tried to suppress her giggle, and Big Guy smiled triumphantly.

The Big Guy's way of getting even.

Helen sighed.

"How are you feeling?" she knelt beside him and examined his head.

"Like I got the hangover without the party," he mumbled leaning close to her, "What happened?"

"Just a little rescue mission, we'll be back home in no time," she kissed the side of his head affectionately.

He looked up at the rest of the group.

"They know don't they?" he looked at her. She nodded silently, again trying not to laugh.

"Are they going to sit me down and have 'the talk' with me, cause they should know by now what my intentions are towards you," he smiled his cheeky, but dashingly charming smile.

"Maybe later," she teased and helped him up.

He stumbled a bit but quickly gained his footing and stabilized. He looked around.

"We're in a stairwell!" he stated suddenly.

"Nice work Captain Obvious," said Kate.

Nikola barely registered the remark. He turned around wildly to face Helen.

"Why?" he asked, like a child.

"We're going for a pick up Nikola, stairwell is our best option, that Mongrove woman doesn't want to make it easy for us," she answered.

"Where's the pick up?" he blinked, obviously still a little dizzy from Big Guy's manhandling.

"On the roof," Helen said calmly.

"Ah," he shook his head and began to stumble up the stairs.

Helen smiled once again at him before giving a look at Big Guy and following to make sure Nikola didn't fall ass-backwards back down.

**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**

Laura ran through the halls and swiped her I.D. card to release the barriers.

She had past a bunch of her guards lying unconscious and was no moving even quicker.

She moved past more barriers and saw Dorian sitting against one of the barriers, half-conscious.

"Dorian, what happened?" she ordered, kneeling to slap him alert.

"Got hit with a tranq," he sleepily choked out, "they got away."

"You useless piece of-" she got up and opened up the barrier. "I expect better from you Dorian!" she yelled as she turned on her heel and running the way she just came.

She needed to get to the roof and fast.

**~~~2~~~**

The team urged up the stairs slowly, all still exhausted from the exhilarating run, and all constantly stopping whenever Nikola looked like he was about to faint.

It was slowly, but surely.

The reached another landing.

"How many floors does this building have?" whined Nikola as he sat on the step to take a breath.

"Not many more, like three," said Henry.

"Three!" Nikola whined again, scrunching his face up like a child.

"We're almost there Nikola, we've got to keep going," said Helen offering her hand to help him up.

"I know, just complaining," mumbled Nikola as he took her hand.

Helen winced and looked at her hand at the cut she had received from Nikola when trying to use the phone.

"I totally forgot about that cut in the excitement," Helen took a piece of her sleeve and ripped it and wrapped it around her hand over the cut.

Nikola stared wide-eyed at the small blood smear that adorned the palm of his hand.

"Are you ok, Nikola?" asked Helen when she noticed his prolonged stare.

"Uh, um, yah, just a little dizzy," he smiled reassuringly. The rest of the group shrugged and continued to trudge up the stairs.

Nikola let Helen go ahead of him and waited till she was a few steps away before returning his gaze to the blood smear.

Somehow the sudden contact with the electric buzz of her blood on his skin sparked something in him, a feeling he had almost forgotten, but had dreaded.

It boiled in his gut like a monster waiting to burst forth, an unsatiable need, a desire.

Nikola shook it away, suppressed it.

Now was not the time.

He quickly caught up with the others and tried not to think about it.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Pierre, and his team flew in the sleek black helicopter.

He was piloting, while his team sat armed and ready for a quick pick up.

Pierre had gotten Henry's call about 20 minutes ago and had immediately gone into action. Jacques, the Head of the Paris Sanctuary had returned from the Rome conference, which had continued without Helen, he guessed they were used to Helen disappearing halfway through.

Jacques manned the ground team, ready in case the pick up ended up trickier than what was hoped.

Pierre looked back at his team and they nodded back in confirmation that they were ready, tranq-darts, ladder, and all.

He returned to the sky in front of him and sent confirmation to Jacques in the van below.

EscCor was about to have a full-on Sanctuary invasion, and they would have a lot of explaining to do.

Why a simple military technology manufacturer needed to steal a 160 year-old terotologist and her big-brained accomplice was beyond his understanding, but like with most cases, it probably was for something very bad.

He just hoped they had managed to stop the onslaught of bad before it spread too far.

He crossed his fingers and flew on.

**~~~1~~~**

The team reached the roof.

The wind blew Helen and Kate's hair everywhere, and the sudden light drizzle of rain made Nikola whine about behind tired and wet.

But like the gentleman he was he removed his coat, a little begrudgingly, and covered Helen with it.

He was a reluctant gentleman, but she knew that he would only be for her, which made it rather endearing.

She kissed him lightly, grateful for the gesture.

Kate looked at Will, Henry and Big Guy expectantly.

"What? None of you are gentleman enough to match vamp-boy?" she crossed her arms disappointed.

They all shook their head and wrapped their coats even tighter around themselves except for Big Guy who just grunted and walked away.

Helen smiled back at her team, then at Nikola.

She held his hand gently, not noticing his body instantly tense at the contact.

Suddenly a loud bang resounded and Nikola moved down and stared at his chest.

"Nikola," Helen breathed, seeing his white shirt pool into red.

"Oww," he stared at it, then looked behind him.

Laura Mongrove stood, gun in hand, chest heaving, eyes blazing, ready to shoot again if need be.

"I won't let you go! Your blood is mine!" she shouted over the wind.

She stepped forward and Nikola stood in front of Helen protectively.

"This is madness!" he growled.

"NO!" she screamed.

Helen flinched, feeling the pang of familiarity.

"You've drove yourself to insanity, a world can not be run on insanity! It needs rationality, and order! It needs balance, you are setting it up for destruction!" Nikola tensed again when he felt Helen's hands on his back.

Laura fired another shot into his chest.

Helen winced, though she knew he'd heal, she just didn't like the jerk he made when it happened.

"I am not INSANE!" she screamed again, "I am a visionary!"

Will, Kate, Henry, and Big Guy stood frozen to the spot, watching the scene carefully, ready to move in case it got out of hand.

"Put the gun down!" yelled Helen.

"I will have your blood! I will succeed! I will make peace!" her eyes burned brighter as she fired another shot.

It missed Nikola by a hair and grazed Helen's shoulder.

Helen yelped in pain as she felt the deep sting, and felt the warm blood drip lightly down her back.

Nikola turned and stared at the small wound.

Helen moved back at the look in his eyes.

"_AGGHHHH!"_

_Helen tried to hold herself together watching her dear friend struggle and fight as James, Nigel, and John worked to hold him down and restrain him to the gurney._

"_RELEASE ME!" screamed Nikola._

_He bared his fangs and his eyes, black dead orbs, staring with hatred and hunger at her._

"_Please Nikola, we only want to help you, let us!" she bit back her tears._

"_AGGHH!" he screamed again as he tried to claw at John. _

_John growled angrily and grabbed his arm and brought it back violently, Nigel jumped to strap the restraints on._

_They proceeded to help James and pull down Nikola's other arm and strap it down tightly._

_Nikola growled and kicked violently trying to pull away and burst free of the tight bonds._

_They grabbed his legs and pulled them down as well to restrain him then moved away quickly as Helen raised the pistol to his chest and fired._

_He stopped jerking and struggling and went limp._

_Helen put down the weapon and walked over to Nikola's limp body and stroked his hair gently._

"_Nice shot, Helen," said James, taking a breath._

"_It was a strong sedative in bullet form," she pulled the bullet out of his chest and the wound instantly healed, "Something I developed for easy sedation."_

"_Well it won't really work on us immortals, unless you are refining a method to inject the sedative without having to shoot a bloody hole in them," stated Nigel._

"_It would prove to be quite useful on those creatures who don't willingly accept treatment," said James._

_Helen ignored the scientific minds buzzing about behind her and just stared sadly at Nikola, the bloodlust was enraging him, they had him locked away in a room for days, trying to figure out what they could do to control it._

_John suggested certain mild sedatives, James thought of several shock therapies to maybe shock him out of it, Nigel suggested suppressing the impulse in the brain._

_Helen had pondered all of these suggestions and worked tirelessly on it, until she had finally come up with a cure, it had worked in technical try-outs, now she needed to test it on him. It was a harsh liquid, a combination of many things, distilled, brewed, baked and burnt. She had enlisted her father's help._

_She looked at James and he took the small vial from the tray beside him and handed it to her._

_On the few times he managed to calm himself down, usually after hours of raging and spouting curses he would have a few hours where he would sit, lost, like when she found him in the park, when his frightful features would melt away and his blue eyes would stare off somewhere, Helen and Nikola talked. _

_She wanted to help him get through this, she wanted her friend back, but he was lost, lost in this terror, in this confusion._

_She sighed and opened Nikola's mouth gently and poured the contents of the vial down his throat and closed his mouth and nose to make him swallow._

_His head immediately jerked and his eyes blazed open, making Helen jump away from him._

_The black orbs slowly faded into the blue-grey eyes that she had come to know and love._

_He sighed a little drugged-like and looked at her._

"_Helen?" he choked out._

"_Yes Nikola," she went up and stroked his face._

"_Mid-term exam tomorrow, don't be late," he said before closing his eyes and slipping into unconsciousness._

Nikola's eyes glared hungrily, she saw the edges of black swirl around his eyes.

It faded and he looked away when the sound of a helicopter descended upon them.

The wind picked up and nearly knocked Laura off her feet.

Helen looked up and saw the black Sanctuary helicopter looming overhead.

The ladder dropped and the team immediately bolted to it and scrambled up the steps.

Laura struggled to stand against the wind and fired at the group on the ladder.

Helen climbed behind Will, with Nikola behind her.

"Helen! Give me the gun!" shouted Nikola, opening his hand and lifting it up.

She dropped the gun to him and he pointed and aimed below him at Laura Mongrove.

"Face it, you've lost!" he shouted over the Helicopters rotors.

He pulled back on the trigger and the dart landed square in her chest.

She wavered and fell to her knees, she tried to take another shot but lost the battle for consciousness and collapsed completely.

Nikola continued climbing up the ladder into the heli to join the rest of them in the backseat.

"Good timing, Pierre," Helen smiled and patted his shoulder as he flew away.

He muttered something in French and kissed her hand, smiling.

"Good to see you again, Helen," she nodded and went to sit next to Nikola in the back.

"Whew, that was close, I almost thought for sure we were going to be shark bait," said Will.

Kate nodded and Big Guy grunted.

"Hey, what happened back there?" asked Will. He looked at the small scratch on Helen's shoulder and looked around for an emergency med kit.

Helen waved off the wound; it wasn't serious.

"Nothing, really, just got a bullet graze to the shoulder, I've had worse," Helen said calmly.

"No, I'm talking about afterwards, you guys shared some kind of look, I thought Nikola was going to go all vampire on you," said Will. He looked at Nikola who had been sitting there strangely quiet, still holding the tranq-gun in his hand.

Helen had to admit she thought the same thing and looked at him as well.

"What was that about, Nikola?" she looked at him with a hint of worry.

"You asked me earlier if I was feeling strange, " Nikola turned to weapon in his hand as he spoke. "I told you I felt fine, remember?"

Helen eyed him weirdly, and her eyes darted from the gun to him.

"Well Helen…I don't feel so good…"he moved quickly and shot a tranq-dart into his neck

Helen jumped, along with all the team.

He shook his head sleepily and looked at her.

His lips curled into a small smile before his eyes rolled back into his skull and he went limp and fell against the window of the helicopter.

Helen grabbed him before he fell on to the floor and held him up and re-positioned him.

"Why'd he do that?" asked Kate.

Helen sighed, a chill running through her.

"To protect me…from him…"


	18. Chapter 18 Bitter Deceit

A/N: Hey! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, been busy getting ready fro Christmas break, but I got this chapter done. Little warning, it gets a little smutty-ish at the end, not horribly, just a bit, but I needed a scene between Nikola and Helen that showed the desperation of the situation, I hope it works. Read and Review! Yay!

Chapter 18 – Bitter Deceit

_**~~~~Paris Sanctuary~~~~**_

Helen sighed under the hot water of the shower in her guest room at the Paris Sanctuary.

They had arrived back from EscCor nearly 3 hours ago and immediately had Nikola put under a scanner, and then debriefed the entire incident with Jacques.

Nikola was still out from the tranq-dart he had shot himself with; Helen knew why he had done it, before when he had suffered from the bloodlust, he had stared at her the exact same way, hungrily.

She turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel before stepping out and changing into fresh clothes.

Suddenly, the intercom in her room buzzed to life.

"Helen, he's awake, he's asking for you," came Will's voice.

Helen pressed the respond button while quickly towel drying her hair.

"Thank you Will, I'll be right there," she hung up the towel and quickly strode out of the room down to the infirmary.

She found her way to the infirmary's observation deck to join Will, Jacques and Pierre. They stood huddled together looking out the two-way mirror.

"How is he?" she asked coming up to them.

She looked at the three men, and they stared solemnly back at her.

The Head of the Sanctuary, Jacques Renard, a tall, well-built, handsome man around the age of 49, looked kindly at her with his soft, deep brown eyes.

"The drugs were no use Helen, his body has changed too much, the original medication barely put a dent in it," Jacques said in perfect English. He was born in France but educated in England. To an untrained ear, one would think he was a born Londoner, of course, Helen heard the slight French timber to his voice.

Out of all the Sanctuary Heads she dealt with, he was positively one of her favorites. Not just because he was handsome and very gentlemanly, but also because he reminded her of a younger version of her father with his humane genteel nature, yet firm authoritative presence.

He walked up to her and kissed her cheek lightly.

"You may stay here as long as you need Helen, you have this whole sanctuary at you disposal, if you need anything to cure your friend, just ask," he smiled warmly and patted her hand reassuringly.

She nodded in thanks and he took his leave to return to official Sanctuary business, followed closely by Pierre.

Helen looked at Will.

"I want to see him," she looked at Will sternly.

"He's in there, but be careful Magnus, he could snap at any time," Will stopped Helen from walking out by putting a hand on her arm. "I know Nikola would never intentionally hurt you, but he may not have control, I'm just concerned."

Helen sighed and patted his hand gratefully.

"I'll be fine, I ordered Jacques to give him a diazepam cocktail, should keep him stable as long as no one cuts themselves near him," Will relented and released her arm and she turned and walked calmly out.

The diazepam had worked for Henry on controlling stress triggers, it was logical that it would work, in conjunction with a few mild sedatives and vitamin supplements, to suppress Nikola's bloodlust, at least until they were able to develop a new medication.

She walked into the isolation room. Nikola sat on the gurney looking down at his had quietly.

His hands were still bound to a restraint belt around his waist, to keep him from slashing any medical personnel trying to help him.

He wore white scrubs, a style that didn't suit him, of course, he never seemed the white pajamas type anyways, though it did show off a little of his lean-muscled body.

She closed the door behind her and walked forward a little bit.

"I should've thought of that years ago," he turned around at the sound of her voice and she gestured to the restraints. "Probably would've saved me a lot of trouble if you had kept your hands to yourself."

She smirked trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled weakly back at her and turned back to his original position.

"Yes, but what would have been the fun in that?" he said lightly, but missing his usual snarky tease. It was very disconcerting for Helen.

She went up to him.

"How are you feeling?" she wrapped her fingers around one of his gruff hands.

"Painful, but manageable, whatever cocktail you forced down my throat, it's crude but effective," he muttered but did not move his hand to squeeze hers, just let it hang limply in her grasp.

"It should help you keep from going loco until we can fix it," she stroked his face gently.

"That's if you can…" he said quietly still looking down.

"Hey, we will find a cure, then you'll be just as you were before," she smiled and smoothed his hair down.

"You didn't love me before…" he half-scoffed.

He looked away sadly.

"As I said before, I have always loved you, I just never thought you were sincere, you had a way of making me feel like both a goddess and a conquest at the same time, I know the truth now."

She lifted his chin upwards so he was looking at her, she kissed him lightly but he quickly pulled back.

"I don't think that's such a good thing right now. It hurts, Helen, it's like a gnawing on my gut, and you being so close…I wanted to drink you, Helen, on that roof, you're blood, it smelt intoxicating, like your priceless vintages, and it's still there! That bloodlust! Until you find me a cure, stay away from me; keep everyone away! I've already requested a secure room, a decent proximity from the rest, I'm just going to lock myself in there. And hopefully…hopefully I won't hurt anyone again…"

Helen shook her head.

"It won't come to that Nikola, you are strong, you'll be able to pull through this!" she put her hand on his.

"Can't you see, Helen? Even now a part of me wants to rip you apart! I have to get away from you! I'd rather die of starvation than kill someone like that again! Especially not you."

"Nikola…"

He stood up shakily.

"I'm not well, Helen, it's almost crippling."

"Then take some Nikola! I'm here, drink enough to hold you until it's fixable!"

He stood and shook his head.

"No Helen! I won't do it! I'll never do it! I think it's best you go," he pointed to the door.

"I won't leave, Nikola, I love you! I don't want you to starve yourself, especially if I can't cure you!" Helen walked back up to him. "I can't lose you too, Nikola, not now," Helen kissed him, pouring all her heart into the kiss.

Nikola tensed and she felt him morphing slightly under her touch but he pushed away from her.

"Please Helen, just, let me do it my way for once."

He turned away from her and looked out the small window at the rain-covered night.

Helen looked down sadly watching him disconnect from her, after all this years he still was a recluse of sorts. Keeping everything to himself, hiding it all away, letting no one truly understand what was going on inside.

Many people wanted to pick that brain, unlock his thoughts, but whatever crossed his minds eyes was a relative Pandora's box. Helen wondered what he kept so safely guarded in there.

It wasn't his work; he displayed his work with a flourish, never hesitant to show off his brilliance. It was in his past that was something he chose to abandon years ago. It wasn't his pain, or his hunger, or his need either, it was something much deeper, a single memory he chose to leave untouched and completely perfect, or maybe a collection of memories that defines who he is.

Something was making him pull back from her; something was taking her beloved Nikola farther than she could reach.

**_~~~~Spring 1888~~~~_**

_Helen ran as fast as her boots could take her._

_A sheet of rain poured on her, soaking her down to her corset. Her hat had fallen away leaving her blonde curls to cascade down her back and stick with the moisture pouring upon them._

_She needed to keep running, lest she fall down and become over-raught with grief; she needed to reach the little inn; she needed comfort; she needed him, her best friend._

_She walked into the inn and barged up the stairs to his room at the end of the hall._

_She hammered on his door until he opened it and peaked out._

"_Helen?" What are you doing here so late? Your soaked!"_

_She pushed her way past him easily and entered the room, fighting to control her breath. Nikola led her over to the couch in front of the fireplace and sat her in front of the glowing warmth, calmly wrapping a towel around her soaked and shivering frame._

"_What happened?" he asked calmly rubbing her shoulder gently._

"_J-john, he, he's Jack!" she choked out, fighting to keep her tears inside._

_Nikola looked down sadly, and continued rubbing warmth into her freezing skin._

"_Let's get you out of those wet clothes," he said, giving her time to say what she needed to say. He took out a spare shirt, a pair of socks, and trousers from his chest of drawers and handed them to her. "Take these," he said softly and she nodded still fighting her emotions._

_She went to the bathroom and changed silently, except for the quiet whimpers her cold body shook out._

_She re-emerged dressed in his clothes. She handed her wet things that he hung on a drying rack near the blazing fire. She sat back down on the couch, fiddling with her hands gently in her lap. He came over and wrapped a warm blanket around her and poured her a cup of tea._

_She took it without a word and held it in her frigid hands._

"_Helen," came Nikola's soft voice, hinted by his foreign accent. "What happened?" he asked again sitting next to her and placing a hand gently over top hers._

_Helen let out a soft cry and a tear escaped._

"_He was there, John, ready to kill, he killed all those girls, I tried saving the last one but he was too quick, he wouldn't accept any help… I-I shot him, Nikola…"_

_Helen finally broke and let the tears fall freely, throwing her arms around Nikola, sobbing into his chest._

_Nikola wrapped his arms around her tentatively and held her, letting her cry it out, with out so much as uttering a word, she didn't need words right now._

_After awhile Helen pulled away from his warm embrace and wiped her eyes._

"_I-I don't want tea right now, I need something stronger!" she sprung up from the couch and stormed over to Nikola's liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey; she popped the top and chugged half of it in one go._

_Nikola went over and pried the bottle away from her before she drowned herself with it._

"_Helen alcohol is not what you need right now, you need comfort, you need to sit down and get all your frustrations out! I'm here for you."_

_She looked at him._

"_You're right, I need to get my frustrations out! Just kick them out of my system!" she grabbed him tightly by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to her roughly, crashing their lips together._

_Nikola's brain froze as she kissed him. He tasted the whiskey on her tongue and her hands frantically pulling at his tie._

_Nikola finally snapped back into focus._

"_Helen!" he managed to push her away, however reluctantly, and looked at her sternly. "It's not right! You know that! You're hurt and drunk, and you'll probably kill me if you find out."_

_She smacked him and tugged him back to her._

"_What's wrong Nikola? I'm not good enough for you! I don't measure up to those ladies of the night you whore around with!" she growled bitterly._

_He looked away sadly._

"_Your anger is not for me, Helen," his voice was firm, "You are more beautiful than any other woman out there! If only you knew how much I would like to take up on this offer, but I won't, not when you're like this."_

_She scoffed and grinned deviously._

"_You don't really believe that, Niko, you want me even now, you're just scared!" she slowly unbuttoned his vest and shirt and slipped her hands inside to graze lightly over his bare skin._

_Nikola's breath hitched as he inhaled sharply._

_She picked up the whiskey bottle and took a big gulp and then brought the bottle to his lips. He drank, willfully, temporarily distracted by the feeling of her hands on his chest, then on his stomach, then playing at the waist of his trousers._

"_Helen," he gurgled, trying to keep himself from completely losing it._

"_I want you, Niko, I want you to make me feel better, I want you to help me forget," she whispered into his ear and took another swig of whiskey before tossing the bottle and kissing him again._

_She pulled the loose white shirt over her head and Nikola froze, gazing at her; she was more beautiful than he had ever imagined, and now she was in his arms, caressing him, wanting him._

_It was like his deepest fantasy had come to life for him, and she was a vision._

_Her hands were all over him, her lips even more so._

_In his reverie, she had managed to push him on to the bed and straddle him._

_She was naked, so completely naked, and how he had wished for this moment, when they'd be the closest two people could get to each other._

_But she wasn't doing this because of him, she was doing this because she was upset, because she felt she needed to have all the grief pounded out of her, and Nikola was the only one low enough to do so without regrets._

_He stopped kissing her and got up, pushing her off him._

"_No I can't do this!" he got himself a safe distance away from her._

"_Why the hell not!" she screamed frantically._

"_Because it's not real! I don't want you like this!" he yelled back just as equally forceful as her. Helen broke out into a sob and he softened slightly._

_He went up to her and pressed a light kiss on the side of her head, as she hugged her knees to herself tightly._

_He picked up his robe and draped it over her. She pulled it tightly around her and sobbed some more._

_Nikola moved her chin to face him._

"_Helen, you are one of the few people I care for in this world, I would never…never intentionally hurt or take advantage of you, because you mean much more than that to me," she looked at him and wrapped her arms around his neck._

"_I love you, Nikola, please know that," she said drowsily, spent from all the crying and alcohol. She kissed him again but softer. "Hold me?"_

_Nikola nodded and scooted on the bed, letting her cuddle next to him._

_She fell asleep almost instantly, and Nikola extricated himself and found the discarded shirt and a pair of clean briefs and slipped them on her, to save her modesty._

_He covered the blanket over her and smoothed down her hair, and kissing her forehead gingerly._

_He lay down next to her, facing her, taking her soft hands in his calloused ones, and just watched her sleep._

"_I love you too…"_

**_~~~~Present~~~~_**

Helen rubbed her eyes, staring away from the screen.

She was tired, and had been working for hours straight.

It had been nearly two days since she had seen Nikola, as he said he would, he had locked himself in a room somewhere in the Paris Sanctuary, allowing only food and the occasional bottle of wine to enter and keep him company.

Helen, on the other hand, worked tirelessly on a medication, from an appetite suppressant cocktail that would make a normal human hunger less for the better part of 2 weeks, to different experiments with the original meds she had developed for him.

Neither was working to the degree Nikola needed to be sustained.

She worked from all areas, from diet, to brain, even several types of liver pills, steroids, morphine, oxycodone, worm pills, horse tranquilizers, dialysis, everything and anything she could dig up from her medicinal knowledge she tested.

Those that did what she wanted didn't do it to the amount that Nikola required, without destroying his kidneys in the process, and those seemed they could, ended up not being as effective in higher doses.

It seemed hopeless, and she knew Nikola was slowly eating away inside that room, his blood lust driving him ever close to the brink of madness.

It was just like John, and she couldn't let that happen again, it was unfair; for her and especially for him, who had pined tirelessly for her affections for years.

She stood up and walked out, now determined to save that arrogant ass she loved so much if it was the last thing she did.

**_~~~~EscCor Facility~~~~_**

Laura Mongrove stared out the window furiously. She had lost her asset, the key to this winning this war for peace.

She was furious with herself, and with the others, but there was no tile to dole out punishments, with the blood she had and the resources she had, she continued on to the next stage. The mighty army she dreamed about was not perfect, in fact they were less-than perfect.

The aging process would not be complete in time for the allotted demonstration, he army would be made up of very vicious and skilled children, they would have to work extra hard to prove themselves a serious threat, this also made them more susceptible.

Everything just made Laura twist and turn with rage. She wanted to ring the throat of Helen Magnus until the head popped off. Then nothing would be in her way of stealing the precious blood inside Nikola's body.

**_~~~~Paris Sanctuary~~~~_**

Helen walked through the halls of the Paris Sanctuary to Nikola's room.

She was mentally preparing herself for what could happen when she walked through those doors, saw him, how would he react, he had made it clear he didn't wish to see anyone, but would he make an exception for her?

All these questions raced through her mind as she approached the old doors.

Helen knocked lightly on the door. When she received no answer she shrugged off all manners and entered quietly.

She saw Nikola staring solemnly at the fireplace in the middle of the room. Sparky must've found himself somewhere else to sleep because she didn't see the lovable creature anywhere.

Nikola sat unflinching, staring, breathing.

Helen tried not to alert him to her presence too soon. She had thought of every other possible way to go about this, and she wouldn't do this if she weren't absolutely desperate to save the man who had claimed her heart.

With the medication being such a slow and arduous process than before, of course he was more vampire than before, he was slowly letting himself eat away on that couch, and she needed him to hold on for just a bit longer, just to give her more time.

Helen breathed deeply, trying not to think about what her father would say.

She went up to Nikola gently, his head jerked to look at her when a floorboard creaked beneath her foot.

"Helen? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here," he said coolly.

"I wanted o see you, it feels like we haven't been alone together in a while," she said calmly as she walked closer. Nikola visibly tensed at her proximity.

"I can't, Helen, you know that, I could hurt you, I'm not safe, you should go," he didn't move and kept his gaze fixed on her.

She was dressed in nothing but a light silk robe tied at the waist. He could sense her blood; smell the heat off her skin.

"Nikola, I've known you for almost over a century, and though you manage to be quite surprising sometimes, there is one thing I realized about you," she pulled on the tie of her robe, letting it flutter open, and slide down her shoulders. "You can't hurt me Nikola, you love me and you won't; I love you and trust you."

Nikola's breath hitched in his throat as the robe completely fell away and pooled on the floor at her feet.

Helen stepped forward and gently ran her hands through Nikola's hair, his eyes closed in the contact, and his breath came out strained and ragged.

"Helen…" he choked out.

"Shhh…" she placed a finger lightly over his lips before descending her own upon them.

His hands weakly ran across her sides and along her bare skin.

They seemed to shiver simultaneously.

Her hands slipped from his hair down to the buttons of his shirt, slowly unbuttoning them.

Nikola's hands jerked and grabbed hers, pulling them away from his shirt.

"Helen, lease…" his eyes pleaded but Helen merely pushed him back on the couch and climbed on top to straddle him, pulling her body flush against him.

Her arms looped around his neck and she kissed him harder. He kissed her back, the back of his head resting against the back of the couch.

Helen could feel his heart pound beneath her, and resumed with unbuttoning the soft cotton shirt, pulling it from where he had it neatly tucked in and pushing it as far of his shoulders as she could.

His chest heaved with sharp, ragged breaths, as his hands wisped against her thighs, gently caressing them.

He was giving her just what she'd hoped he would, he was giving her control. She had him right where she wanted him, helpless and pinned beneath her naked body.

He was lost in her, kissing her clavicle and breasts, moaning with need, desire and longing. He was so lost that he barely flinched when her hands traveled downwards from his chest. He was so completely distracted by her love, by her beauty, by his own love, that he barely registered when they started moving together as one rhythmic motion repeated over and over.

It wasn't playful as it had been in La Notte, or as nervous and uncoordinated as it was that night when they had ran through the Sanctuary like love struck teenagers from the roof to her room, kissing and exploring, and just reveling in being with each other at last.

No, this time was filled with a shadow, a desperate need hovering above them, a pained passion, a gut twisting desire, sensual, hot, and slow.

There was no teasing, or play, or names or words, just motions and need.

And Nikola was lost. Lost and helpless, clinging onto her for fear that he would lose his grip on her and on reality.

Helen lifted his chin to look at him, his blue-eyes gazed back lazily.

She kissed him pouring the love from her heart on to his lips before brushing her brunette locks behind her ear, exposing her soft white neck.

His breath hitched again but he kept moving along with her. He stared at the gorgeous line of her neck, unsure what to do or whether to proceed, but eyeing hungrily at the pulse point, his desire pooling into his eyes.

Helen brought her lips to brush against his ear deftly.

"Take what you need…" she whispered seductively and lolled her head back and welcoming his hungry lips to her neck, he tensed beneath her, still staring at her exposed throat, but relaxed shortly and kissed the delicate flesh, breathing in it's scent, feeling the blood rush through her veins under his lips.

He ran his tongue along it's gorgeous length before inhaling sharply and letting his teeth retract in an instant and sinking in, making Helen gasp in surprise.

Whether it was in pain or in ecstasy, she couldn't tell; she felt her blood rush faster, and her hips move harder, and his heart pumped wildly against her chest.

"…_I don't feed on humans, I made that vow long ago and I intend to keep it."_

She closed her eyes and let he sensations wash over her, let them bathe her in silk and satin and drown her in emotions.

Nikola suddenly stopped, everything, and violently pushed her away from him.

Helen tumbled backwards and grabbed her abandoned robe and held it close.

She looked up at Nikola who had moved to the corner of the room and was wiping the blood at the edge of his mouth, his eyes burned with rage and hurt.

"Why would you do that? WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ME DO THAT?" he screamed furiously. His face burned red and his eyes screamed bloodshot, wet and angry. "I COULD'VE KILLED YOU!" he screamed again.

His shirt was left abandoned on the floor by the couch and his pants hung loosely on his lithe hips. His hair gleamed with sweat and his chest heaved with anger.

"Nikola, I just wanted to…" Helen felt her eyes sting with hot tears.

"NO!" he snarled.

She felt a tear escape as she watched him pace frantically in front of her, shoving his hands through hair.

He whimpered, that same awful, heartbreaking whimper he had uttered when she had found him in his lab.

"Nikola…I love you…" she choked through her now freefalling sobs.

"Then why? Why trick me? Why let me do that to you? If I had killed you, if I had gone too far, I wouldn't be able to live with myself! That was foolish Helen! That was damn foolish! Now get out! GET OUT!" he pointed furiously in the direction of the door.

Helen wrapped the robe around herself and tried to reach out to him but he backed away instantly, keeping the distance between them.

"Don't come near me, Helen! I don't want you near me!" he yelled angrily backing into the wall.

"I want to help you, Nikola!" she yelled back.

She stepped forward again and he snarled and brought his hand back to strike her hard across the cheek. She landed on the floor with a thud, a small cut just on the line of her cheekbone.

Nikola's resolve softened almost immediately, dissipating into regret and worry. He gulped staring in shock as she gasped and felt the cut.

She stared at him, startled and fearful.

"Helen, oh my god, I didn't mean to," he moved to help her but she involuntarily flinched away from him. His heart sank in front of her and he backed away from her to the window. "I told you I wasn't safe, Helen! I told you but you never listen! I need to get away from you before I hurt you again…"

Nikola looked around wildly suddenly, like he had heard a haunting voice but couldn't where it was coming from.

…_Flud-a-tut-tut-tuh…_

Like the rapid flapping of wings.

"No! I-I won't! I love you, Helen…" he smashed through the window and disappeared into the night.

Helen felt the sudden chill of the rain sweep across her and she shivered, letting her tears flow down her cheeks freely.

She had just made one of the biggest mistakes of her life, or at least she felt like she did, and her heart was breaking with grief as she stared at the pieces of colored glass lying along the floor.

She had let the man who had truly loved her, who cared for her so much he swore he would never harm her; who loved her unconditionally for years, never asking for anything more, and she had used this weakness against him.

And now he was gone.

AN: If it's a little out of character, i'm sorry, it's just going to get even more dramatic from here! I'm trying!


	19. Chapter 19 Escape At Night

Chapter 19 – Escape By Night

_**~~~~Paris Sanctuary~~~~**_

Will walked into the lab, it was late, and he wanted to make sure Helen wasn't going to be up all night working; he doubted she had even left in the last few days.

Sure enough, she was at the bench working tediously at the lab equipment, almost in a frenzy, stress and frustration scrunching her brow and straining her beautiful face.

"Helen, you should get some rest, you won't get anywhere like this!" said Will, startling her.

"No! I can't, not enough time!" she shook her head and returned to the microscope.

"Helen, this is insane! Nikola is not going anywhere! Why do you do this to yourself?" he put a hand on her shoulder, which she shrugged off instantly.

"You don't understand!" she cried, her voice straining.

"No I don't! And I won't until you explain it to me!" Will yelled back.

"Just leave me be, Will!" she cried, getting up from the stool and moving across the lab.

"You do this every time! You lock yourself in a lab and beat yourself up about it, it's got to stop!" Will grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away.

"Let go of me!" she yanked her hand out of his.

"Fine! I give up! Your as breakable as a stone brick!" Will raised his hands in defeat and turned on his heel to storm out when he stopped hearing Helen let out a small sob.

"He's gone, Will, he's out there, he's gone!" she cradled her head in her hands.

Will sank watching her collapse in on herself.

"What are you talking about, Helen?"

"It's all my fault, he left because of me!" Helen sobbed again.

"What do you mean?" Will exclaimed, still lost.

"I went to see him, and I tried to trick him into drinking off me so he could give me more time to find a cure, he screamed and ran out!" Helen buried her face in her hands.

Will caught a glimpse of something hiding behind her brunette bangs.

He lifted the hair from her forehead and saw a small Band-Aid covering up a small cut just above her left eye.

"Did he do this to you?" Will's blood nearly boiled at the thought.

"H-he didn't mean to, it was the blood! He's trying so hard to keep control, and it's slipping with every passing moment, that's why I did what I did!" Helen moved Will's hand away from her face. "It's nothing!"

"And now he's out there! Magnus! We have to stop him before he actually kills someone!" cried Will.

"He won't! I just need to get this cure! Everything will be fine!"

"I will get Jacques and Pierre, assemble a team, we'll get him back here, fully sedated, just please, get some rest, it will all be a little clearer once your brain's had a break," Will put his hands on her shoulders and she nodded in defeat, letting the exhaustion take over her.

"You're right, I can't help him if I can't think…" Helen sighed.

"I'll call you the moment we have him, I promise."

"Thank you."

Helen moved past Will and walked in silence to her room.

**_~~~~Rome Catacombs 2008~~~~_**

_The blood dripped from the gaping hole in his abdomen, his hair was slick with sweat from the strain, and his face covered in dirt from the dusty ground._

_The animalistic clicking sounds from his creations looming over him, protecting him from anything that might seek to find him and finish him off._

_He loosened the cravat at his neck and used it to bandage the fist-sized wound._

_It was taking its sweet time to heal, and he was slipping in and out of consciousness, not only from the pain, but also from the lead nail through his heart._

_Nikola's hour of judgment, and all he could think about is her._

_It was true he had grown resentful, angry, and spiteful in the moments leading up to this one._

_For the first hour he had hated her, for everything. For not giving back what he had endlessly given her, not even when he confessed his love for her moments before did she give the slightest inkling in return, then he showed up, taking what was left._

_He hated both of them; and he hated himself._

_He hated himself because he loved her; him because he stole her from him, and her because had willingly ran into his arms, leaving him once again broken hearted on the floor, and probably missing his appendix._

_But slowly the feelings of hate melt away into happier thoughts and dreams; memories that replayed in his mind like old movies. _

_When she was his in the most innocent sense._

_And when fantasy melded into reality and he couldn't tell the difference between the two he really thought he had breathed his last, but the inhuman clicking brought him straight back to earth, and the fact that those fantasies were nothing but a fools hope._

_He didn't like being a fool._

_Nikola got up from the floor of the catacombs, wincing in pain, using the wall to steady himself. His legs and hands shook weakly._

_One of his vamps came over to assist and Nikola snarled angrily._

"_Don't touch me!" he growled and the creature backed off whimpering._

_He managed to pull out his handkerchief and wipe his hands, leaning against the wall._

_A handkerchief she gave him, he kept all her gifts. The inkwell, the handkerchief, thee comb, the strange but beautiful stone; all of them locked away, kept safe, treasured like gold. Completely worthless to anybody except Antiques Road show; but were beyond valuable to him, but it didn't matter to her. She would keep running in to the arms of that lunatic murderer, before she even bat an eyelash at him, and he was an idiot to try to change that._

_He looked up and saw his creatures staring blankly at him, awaiting orders._

_He got up pained and grabbed the nearest one by the neck and broke it cleanly, and proceeded to do the same to the others._

_He would start fresh, anew, with homeless people, nameless drifters. He'd show her, show them all!_

_He looked down at the dead bodies of his creations and sighed._

_He went and found oil and a match and dumped it on the heap of flesh, leaving no evidence of what had transpired here this day._

_He turned on his heel as they burned away to join the dust of the dead, and he limped, bleeding, pained, and angry, farther down into the darkness._

**_~~~~Present~~~~_**

The rain fell on Nikola as he stood outside the window of Magnus' room at the Paris Sanctuary.

He hadn't gotten very far, just far enough to not trust himself to go any further.

He had stood out this window, soaked to the bone in his trousers, watching Helen sleep inside, for hours it seemed.

He wanted to go in there, climb underneath those covers, wrap his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be alright, but he didn't trust himself to do that, not after what had happened earlier.

But nothing was stopping him from standing there, watching, his heart beating loudly inside his chest.

He finally looked at the balcony door and moved towards it, not bothering to close it behind him, he was going to be there long.

The water dripped off of him and on to the floor as he deftly made his way to her bedside, kneeling in front of her.

He looked at her angelic face, accented by the moonlight; she was beautiful, even when she was sleeping.

"Helen," he whispered to her, not to wake her up; he took her hand gently in his hands, but she barely stirred. "Oh Helen, I've never meant to hurt you, I only ever wanted to be with you, you must know this, Helen, that's why I'm going, I've got to finish something, and I'd much rather have you not be there."

Nikola paused and breathed deeply, placing a light kiss on the palm of her hand.

"I'm dying Helen, maybe not in the traditional sense, but I the truth of the matter is I am, and I fear that whatever cosmic force out there is holding this planet together has called my number Helen, been calling it for some time now, and I've been ignoring it. They say the moment before you die your life flashes before your eyes, it doesn't, it comes back in slow painful memories, but it's a compilation of your most painful. Looking back on all of them, all my most painful memories surround you. I loved you so much back at Oxford; my heart broke a hundred times; every time you smiled, kissed, and held Druitt, and when he finally crushed your heart, and then every moment since then when you thought about him instead of me."

Nikola looked down sadly, still holding her hand.

"I almost died in Rome, not just physically, you had rejected me yet again and my heart was eternally crushed, or, so I thought, but it doesn't matter, because amidst all this pain and suffering we had one perfect moment, one that kept drawing me back to you, it's the reason I never gave up. It was when we met, back in Oxford, in the late Summer early Fall, the most perfect moment in my life, when you came up to me in the park, and without a word, decided to become my friend, I'll never forget that, Helen. You could've made friends with any man at that college, you were smarter than most of them, but you decided to become mine, uncomplicated, untainted. Perfect."

Nikola felt a stray tear escape down his wet cheek.

"Remember that old saying James used to say, you use to quote it all the time, especially when I was around my pigeons, he used to say: "Ah Nikola, on the backs of pigeons you'll fly away," for once I think he might be right, they're coming for me, but they won't take me without a fight."

He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you, Helen."

He touched his head to her forehead gently and kissed her once more before disappearing back into the rain, closing the door behind him.

Helen awoke with a start suddenly, and looked around her room, she could've sworn she had heard a noise, but nothing seemed to be out of place, or weird.

She lay back down and sighed, not knowing where Nikola was, was affecting her, and she stared at the rained out night sky, watching the cascade of water fall down upon the world.

Soon she had drifted off to sleep again.

_**~~~~EscCor Safehouse~~~~**_

Gregory Dorian stared out the safe house window, his hands shaking in his lap.

The EscCor team had scattered around searching for their missing valuables, while the main people went underground into hiding as city officials had started coming around asking questions.

They had eyes on the main Sanctuary entrances, the skies, and several abnormal hotspots, like where he was.

He kept his eye out the window, awaiting a family face, or someone who looks like they might know the Sanctuary, and whose in it.

His hands shook furiously, impairing his concentration, and he fingered the syringe sitting in his jacket.

He had to use it sparingly, for he didn't know when he would be able to obtain a refill.

But his hands were starting to become distracting.

He took it out of his pocket and rolled up his sleeve, then suddenly he was knocked to the floor, the syringe flying out of his hand, and a very angry, very vicious looking, fully clothed, vamp on top of him holding him down.

"Feeling a little ill are we, I hope it's not serious!" growled Nikola.

"How'd you find me?" asked Dorian, fear creeping into his voice.

"I smelt your aftershave all away across town!" said Nikola with a bitter smirk.

"Please, I need, the syringe!" Dorian cried.

"Give me on good reason!" snarled Nikola, retracting his long claws.

"I'm sure your girlfriend might have something to say about killing someone with such cruelty, especially an abnormal!" huffed Dorian.

"I'm sure for you she'll make an exception," Nikola's unnatural voice resounded in Dorian's ears.

Dorian pushed Nikola off him and ran towards the syringe but Nikola was faster, and had the syringe under the heel of his boot.

"No don't!" cried Dorian desperately.

"First I want some answers! Where is Laura Mangrove and where is she keeping her experiments!"

"I'm not telling you anything!" spat Dorian.

"Think again!" Nikola had a bit of weight on the syringe.

"Don't!" cried Dorian again.

"Tell me!"

"They're in an underground lab, she's continuing on with the experiments in hiding, ever since your friends at the Paris Sanctuary alerted the local authorities and the government to us! The entrance to it is in an old warehouse, but you won't get far unless you're in cuffs!"

"What else?"

"There is nothing else! She should be finished the first batch of soldiers by today, and by Friday she will give a demonstration to the UN, and later the world, that's all I know I swear, now give me the needle!"

"Thank you for your help, much appreciated," Nikola picked up he syringe and dumped it's contents on the floor, earning him a scream from Dorian.

"What have you done?" screamed Dorian, his whole body seems to shake.

"The only Gregory Dorian on public record was a baker in the late 1800's, now why do I get the sense he's not your grandfather?" Nikola glared evilly at Dorian.

"He's me! I was found by Dr. Magnus, the dude, and he created this serum for me to keep me alive!" shouted Dorian.

"Why would he do that?" growled Nikola.

"Because I agreed to be his test puppy! My blood was unique, was going to cure cancer or something, he traded the serum for it, when I broke free from him I stole the recipe, got scientists from all over to keep re-creating it for me, it's my only means of survival!"

Dorian collapsed to the floor; his body quaked with tremors.

"You threatened to hurt Helen, you deserve whatever you get asshole," Nikola stared coldly at him and watched as his hands, arms and eventually the entire started to rapidly age.

Dorian let out a pained scream then faded into an empty, lifeless, husk.

Nikola took out his handkerchief and wiped his hand before turning on his heel and striding out of the building.


	20. Chapter 20 A Search Commences

Chapter 20 – A Search Commences

_**~~~Fall 1881~~~**_

_Helen smoothed down the layers of her skirt, as she listened to Nikola ramble on about the Physics lecture they had just endured._

_They were sitting outside in the small park near the University, under the shade of their willow tree, it was where they sat and studied together ever since they'd met._

"_Could you believe the pompous, indignant prude, he has never seen an atom in his life and he acts like he knows the world, half his math was a mess, not to mention his suit…" Nikola's accented voice broke into her thoughts again and she giggled._

"_You say that about every lecture," she looked over at him and smiled._

"_Does not mean it is not true!" Nikola growled defensively and Helen just laughed more._

"_One day it will be you up there, and you'll do it right," Helen patted his hand encouragingly._

"_Not on my life, I would not waste my time teaching brainless assess my craft! I want to make a difference, not make a curriculum!" Nikola sneered and wrapped his long fingers over hers._

_Helen squeezed his hand. Although her father did not share the same view, she had grown quite fond of the Serbian sitting beside her. He was the only other man, besides her father, that treated her equally, and constantly supported her right to learn just as any other man. Nikola continually got infuriated with the faculty of the school each time they denied her enrollment into the school; he had said so himself that she was more intelligent than half the dolts that taught them._

_She enjoyed his company, his friendship, every increasingly over the last few months, they seemed to always be together. Hanging in the back of the lecture hall, eating lunch in the park, studying in the library, even heading to the pub after classes._

_Everyone else saw him as arrogant, snobbish, and a complete nuisance, she saw him as her best friend._

_She had learned to put up with his arrogance, and he had learned not to bring up certain times of the month up in conversations._

_Her maid called it a crush, which was ridiculous._

"_Do you think we spend too much time together, Nikola?" she asked, without warning._

"_What makes you say that?" asked Nikola, staring into her beautiful blue eyes._

"_My father said it's improper for a lady to spend so much time with a man who is not her betrothed, or courting her," said Helen, she rushed a curly blonde lock out of her face._

"_Helen, you are a fully grown woman who has the right to hang out with any one she pleases, be it a man or a woman," said Nikola casually, he leaned on one of his elbows and picked at some grass._

"_Even in a man's dormitory?" Helen giggled teasingly._

"_Let them think what they will Helen, we know the truth, if they are so bored with their lives they must resort to making vile gossip about any thing out of their normal social convention, I say Fie to them, may they choke on their tea and scones of distaste!" Helen giggled at Nikola's over-dramaticism._

_She stroked the small thin line of a mustache growing on his upper lip._

"_You never believe in social convention," she chorkled lightly in her throat and got up and tossed a flower into the small pond._

"_Neither do you, and that's why I like you," said Nikola following her and skipping a stone across the water's surface._

"_You like me?" asked Helen, her voice teasing, but her heart skipped a beat in anticipation of his answer._

"_You don't just think I talk with you because of your brains?" Nikola joked and Helen sighed._

"_Of course not, I just find it hard to believe you like something other than yourself," she teased back giggling when he grabbed for her hand._

_They were always playing like this; he always managed to make her feel like she was 8 years old again._

_She ran, giggling and taunting, him chasing, saying something in his Serbian tongue._

_She looked behind her, not seeing the stone in front of her and she suddenly lost her footing._

_Nikola reached out to catch her but lost his balance and the two of them went tumbling down the small knoll, her body landing on his at the bottom._

_They stayed like that together for a moment, letting the ridiculous moment wash over them, laughing out their embarrassment._

"_Are you ok?" asked Nikola, he breathed in deeply to catch his breath._

"_Yes, I'm fine, I may have twisted my ankle, but that's because my knight in shining armor failed to catch me!" she teased._

"_Not my fault you've been having too many scones with your breakfast tea!" Nikola teased back and Helen laughed._

_She looked at him, staring into his blue-grey eyes._

_This was the part in one of her mother's old novels where the heroine and her fated love would share a passionate embrace._

_The setting was perfect, the beautiful fall day warmed around them, their tree was nearby, and the sun's glare off the pond highlighted her blonde hair, and there was no one around to witness their moment._

_She leaned in slightly, hesitantly, unsure if she should take the opportunity._

_She sighed and blew caution to the wind, if this moment was meant to be than she would not let it pass._

_She leaned in again; ready to kiss Nikola's soft lips, to experience a moment she had dreamed of, more than she was willing to admit, with him._

"_Excuse me, is everything alright?" a voice shook her back into reality._

_She moved to sit up, letting Nikola scramble from under her._

"_I saw the fall, I was afraid someone might be hurt," a tall man came bounding down the hill, his dark brown hair blowing in the wind. "I have a doctorate, are there any injuries?"_

"_My ankle may be sprained, but nothing too serious," said Helen, admiring the man. He was indeed very tall, many inches taller than Nikola, not that Nikola was a very tall man. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and a pocket-watch hung from his waistcoat._

"_Do you mind if I examine it?" he asked gently, his deep, rich voice rumbling in her ears._

"_I'm sure she is fine, I caught her on the way down," said Nikola kneeling beside her._

"_Are you her fiancé?" asked the man._

"_No he's not," answered Helen._

"_I am just a friend," Nikola glared at the man._

_The man knelt down and placed his hands gently on her leg and removed her boot carefully._

"_Well, I think you're right, just a simple sprain, you should get home and ice it immediately though," he smiled kindly at her._

"_Thank you, I'm Helen, Helen Magnus," she offered her hand to the kind stranger. "And this is my friend Nikola Tesla, I'm afraid we were horsing around a bit."_

_She smiled in return._

"_I've heard of you two, Oxford's resident troublemakers," he laughed lightly. "Not a day goes by down at the pub when I don't hear another story of the infamous Lady Magnus giving her teachers grief, and her little friend chewing out the speakers in the lecture hall."_

"_With good reason," muttered Nikola._

"_May I say it's a pleasure," the man took her hand and shook it lightly._

"_And what may I call my gracious healer?" Helen giggled lightly again, not noticing Nikola's scowl behind her._

"_The name's Druitt, Montague John Druitt…"_

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~Paris Sanctuary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

Helen awoke feeling a hand on her arm.

"Nikola…" she muttered drowsily.

"Helen, it's me Will, we found Dorian, about an hour ago," said Will, a hint of worry in his voice.

"What? Where?" Helen shook the sleep away and got up from her bed.

"Some druggy found his body in one of the abnormal hotspots, I think he was waiting for us, but someone got to him first," Will's eyes said all Helen needed to hear.

"Nikola!" she gasped knowingly, and he nodded his head.

"Jacques police contacts are shipping the body to the Sanctuary, he said it's quite shocking," said Will.

"At least we know Nikola isn't out there killing innocents, it means he still has control," Helen stood up hopefully and put on her night robe.

"The body should be here soon, Pierre is having a examination room prepped," Will watched her grabbed her clothes and change frantically.

It amazed him how even through a rush she managed to look stunning.

Before he realized it she was quickly marching down the hallway to the elevator, ready for anything.

They made it down to the infirmary level and met Jacques, Pierre, and Kate down there.

"The body just arrived, Helen," said Jacques, handing her the file. "Preliminary findings, looks like the body withered away like a dead flower, the police thought something biological or maybe acid, but I thought you might want to take a look at it."

"Are we sure it's Dorian's?" she asked.

"If the note found by it is any indication then yes," Pierre handed him the evidence bag holding the note.

Helen recognized the handwritten script.

"Nikola…" she breathed.

All the note had said was: _"This is Gregory Dorian."_

"He's on a vengeance spree?" Will looked at Helen.

"The blood is making him highly irrational, he sees them as the cause of it, so he's taking them out…" Helen looked away from them. "I drove him to this."

Will shook his head.

"No, as you said it's the blood, if we can work out the medicine we can stop whoever he plans to kill next," said Will, discouraging any thought of this being Helen's fault, she did nothing but love him, there is no fault in that.

"Helen I will help you with this drug, Pierre and Will can examine the body, we do not have any time to waste."

Helen nodded at Jacques and they parted swiftly to the lab to start working as Will and Pierre scrubbed up.

_**~~~~~~~~~EscCor Underground Complex~~~~~~~~~**_

Laura Mongrove stood behind Jeffries as he typed and clicked, made minor notes, took a chug of coffee and went back to typing again.

The stress in the room was high, and Laura was the stew pot in the middle, expelling steam as she silently simmered inside.

Other scientists were checking the incubation chambers harboring her children, the key to world peace.

Due to the imperfect blood they had harvested from Nikola they still managed to make a vicious weapon, but without the fully complete transformed blood they were experiencing a few drawbacks.

The soldiers weren't going to grow to full size in time, that was obvious, they were still fast, strong and vicious, but the demonstration would just have to be that more spectacular for the world to take them seriously.

Laura had already promised the UN a show, and by heaven she was going to give it to them, despite all its imperfections.

But the threat of ruin was still out there; as long as Helen Magnus and her team were free they could overthrow her plans again.

Then there was Nikola Tesla, the only adversary strong and smart enough to face her army and bring them down.

Not to mention Dorian hadn't checked in and it was almost eight hours since he was due.

Laura's fist clenched slightly, she was so close, and so much was at stake for it to go wrong.

_**~~~~~~~~~EscCor Warehouse Facility Entrance~~~~~~~~~**_

_"Do the pigeons talk to you?..."_

_"Only when i let them..."_

_"And do you?..."_

_"Yes..."_

Nikola growled animalistically staring at the grey industrial warehouse.

At first glance it looked abandoned, one could imagine the teenage punks snuck into the building to light cigarettes and drink underage in the rafters, or throw stones off the roof.

But on second glance, a trained eye would see the hidden security measures surrounding the perimeter of the building.

Motion detectors, guards, guard dogs, security cameras, and a roving patrol in a black minivan; it was more secure than Alcatraz or Azkaban, whatever the place is called.

Fortunately for Nikola, he was a genius, and although these measures were good for keeping teenage punks off the roof, they were no match for him.

He eliminated each measure swiftly and silently, first the motion censors and cameras, then taking out the dogs, and making quick with the guards before the roving patrol passed by and noticed.

He entered into the building dragging one of the guards in his arms.

The guard was conscious and frightened and willingly opened the entrance to the underground facility for the vampire.

Nikola bowed graciously before knocking the man unconscious and hiding him in an empty crate.

He straightened his clothes and strode down, making less than an echo as he did so.

He pulled out the iPhone he stole from Tiny Tim and sent a text to Will, although he didn't want Helen here, he knew that their services were needed shortly. He texted the location of the warehouse, and where he had placed the guard, and about the disabled security measures.

He pressed send then tossed the phone, muttering "Sorry Henry." And in a flash of dust he disappeared down the tunnel.

_**~~~~~Winter 1884~~~~~**_

_Helen's leg was bleeding._

_The abnormal she had tried to catch proved to be a worth adversary for her, but she did not complain, it was just a scratch._

_She let James, Nigel and John believe she was fine as they dragged the unconscious creature to her father's lab. She even tricked herself into believing she was fine, but as she walked back to their lab, her leg feeling like it had been dipped into warm chocolate, and every step like someone was driving a nail into it, she knew she needed to get it looked at._

_Since John was courting her she refused to let him tend to the wound, he would fuss over about it and then get offended that she hadn't told him sooner. She also didn't like the prospect of asking James or Nigel, both to her were like brothers, Nigel would worry, and James would sold her for concealing it._

_She certainly wasn't going to ask her father, for many reasons._

_Nikola however, was her friend, neither a brother, nor a lover. He had put ore bandages on her hands then she'd like to admit, although he set medicinal sciences were glorified voodoo with a microscope, he knew how to fix paltry flesh wounds, or sew up a head gash._

_He was at the lab of course, working tediously on some little thing; he was always making little things when he got stumped on a big thing._

_Helen limped slightly on her way over to him._

"_Nikola…"_

_He turned around at her voice, smiling ecstatically._

"_Helen, look at this I…"_

_He looked stopped when he saw her limping._

"_Are you okay?"_

_He got up and helped her to his seat at the bench._

"_Ran into an abnormal with claws, nothing serious," she shrugged off, wincing a little._

"_Nothing serious? You're limping! Let me see," Nikola tentatively lifted the petticoats of Helen's dress. The material peeled away from her skin, like bloody paper Mache. "You're going to need stitches, just sit still while I get James' emergency kit."_

"_James is so paranoid, he thinks any moment we're going to explode something and lose our fingers," Helen rolled her eyes; she hated being looked after._

"_With good reason, I've nearly blown up the place several times, not to mention when John has a temper tantrum and starts throwing stuff at me, and Nigel can be a little clumsy._

_Helen laughed._

"_What about James?" she asked curiously._

"_James' beard could catch fire at any moment, so could my mustache, or your hair, science is risky, James just doesn't want us to lie there helplessly if something goes wrong, give him a break, he's a mother at heart."_

_Helen laughed lightly again and looked at him laying out sutures and bandages and a basin of water._

"_And what exactly are you?" she quirked an eyebrow at him._

"_I am good with my hands," he said teasingly picking up a cloth from the basin and ringing it out before cleaning the blood off her leg._

_Helen sighed light-heartedly as he tended to her gently._

_She knew she was right to come to him; she got all the healing without the lecture._

"_You should really stop hurting yourself, my dear, I can't be there to fix you up every time and abnormal gets too frisky," Nikola said as he started stitching up the gash._

"_What are you, my father?" she joked._

"_Hardly, I am a much better doctor," he joked back._

_She laughed again and he snipped the end of the suture and tied a knot, placing a bandage gently over top._

"_Shouldn't your betrothed be doing this?" Nikola said, a hint of bitterness in his tone._

"_John is not my betrothed, he is courting me, that's all," Helen let out a huff, Nikola still didn't agree with her choice of John, she assumed it was because they never really liked each other, Nikola only wanted what was best for her._

_At the start Helen accepted John's request for a date, purely to make Nikola jealous, in all honesty she wanted him to court her all those years ago, but when Nikola barely batted an eyelash she kept going out with John._

_She liked John, he was sweet, and attentive, an excellent dancer, he was cultured, refined, a gentle kisser. He was intelligent, humble, sincere, and got along with her father._

_She grew to admire him, maybe even love him._

_He was courting her, but if Nikola showed the slightest inclination that he would do the same…_

_Helen puzzled. _

_Though John was by every definition the perfect man, a man any father would be proud to call son, and any son to call father; Nikola was something completely different, he was spice to John's sweet. Nikola was a genius and knew it; he was a troublemaker. He spoke imperfect English in his foreign tongue, but the words rolled off him like fine wine. He was passionate and strong, and what she envisioned as the romantic hero in her mother's novels. _

_But he was first, and foremost, a scientist._

_Helen never regretted a moment when she befriended him, but he saw her as a fellow scientist, a partner in crime; a chum._

_His hand on her leg, with its deft gentleness, was doing more to her than she would've liked. For as much as she would love him to press those soft foreign lips to the tender flesh of her thigh, she had binded herself to John, promised him the prospect of her love, and she would not dare dishonor herself for a moment of passion._

_Nikola's fingers fiddled with the bandage, making sure it was tight and secure. His hand caressed the milky white skin and lingered for a moment as he thought about how close he was to her, how with one swift movement he could have her for his own. He loved her, he wouldn't deny it to himself, he had been in love with her since they met, and he had dreamt of being right here, between her elegant thighs, for longer than was considered appropriate. But he was nothing if not a gentleman, and though every muscle in his body wanted to take her there on the lab table, his strongest muscle, his brain, won over all._

_He removed his hand from her thigh and stood up, clearing his throat._

"_There, that should keep you from ruining any more dresses," he smirked at her._

"_Yes, I did make quite a mess of my petticoats," Helen said with a small giggle._

"_I think I have some spare clothes lying around, you know, in case I end up sleeping here," he went over to a small cabinet and took out a clean white shirt and trousers. "This should keep you warm enough till you get home."_

"_Won't I raise suspicion leaving here in a man's shirt?" she teased._

"_You'll be carrying your dress and I'll be fully clothed, how suspicious can we look, you ruined your dress, it's understandable," Nikola shrugged off effortlessly._

"_Well not everyone is as reasonable as you," Helen gentle stood up from the chair to change, and Nikola turned around like a gentleman._

"_Could you help me?" Helen felt butterflies swarm in her gut as she asked, and Nikola visibly tensed._

"_What?" Nikola coughed out, unsure of what he heard._

"_I need help with the laces, they're very hard to reach," Nikola turned around and gingerly went to her aid, taking the laces holding up the garment tentatively in his hands, as if they were made of glass._

_He slowly loosened each string, his eyes wide as the clear beautiful skin peaked from beneath the corset. He begged his eyes to look away, but they remain fixed to their positions, eagerly drinking in the sight of her gorgeous backside._

_When the final sting was pulled he stepped back and looked away._

"_I'll give you some privacy, knock when you're done," he quickly strode to the door to make his escape._

"_Nikola!" Helen called out to him before he reached the door. "Thank you."_

_Helen's eyes were sincere and Nikola turned around and flashed her a brilliant and charming smile._

"_Any time, my dear…"_

_**~~~~Present~~~~**_

Helen sighed helplessly as her most recent test ended in failure.

She placed her head in her hands in defeat.

"Mustn't give up Helen, Nikola would be so disappointed," said Jacques, trying to keep the humor light.

"It's not that hard, give him a light beer instead of wine at dinner and he'll be disappointed," Helen let out a small laugh, grateful to her friend.

"True, but still, you giving up is not right, you never give up, and he'd be much more disappointed if you gave up on him," Jacques smiled kindly and handed her a vial.

"You're right, as always, I can't give up on Nikola, he's never given up on me," Helen exhaled and let herself relax and focus.

"Good, besides we still have at least 50 ideas to test, one of them has to work eventually," Jacques winked at her encouragingly.

"Yippie," muttered Helen sarcastically, but appreciative to Jacques good nature.

She focused on Nikola, and how much he risked for her. How hard he had worked on the device to save Ashley even if it was impossible, and the drug to cure the Lazarus virus, and then how much damage he had personally delved out to the Cabal after he had failed her.

She wasn't going to give up on him now, when he needed her.

AN: We're getting closer to the end battle. Nikola and Helen and the team are racing to save the world and what not, and hopefully explain all these memories and why they keep popping up. And the dream at the beginning, i'm hoping is becoming a little more clearer as we trudge along. Read and Review :)


	21. Chapter 21 The Pigeon Call

Chapter 21 – The Pigeon Call

_**~~~~Paris Sanctuary~~~~**_

Will peeled the medical gloves off and looked at Pierre who had a puzzled expression on his face.

They had searched every inch of Dorian's body and found nothing; it was just like he had been dead for years.

Will wondered how Nikola could've done this, but of course, "Professor Hidden Agenda" was good at keeping people guessing.

All the unknown properties of this case sent Will's mind in a frenzy.

He suddenly heard his phone bleep and he took it out of his jean's pocket.

His eyes widened as he read the message he had received.

"Pierre, call Magnus, I think she'll want to see this!"

Pierre nodded his head; he learned long ago not to ask questions when something urgent came up.

He went to the Sanctuary wide intercom system and called for Magnus and Jacques.

A few minutes later they came running in, nearly out of breath, the rest of the team shortly behind them.

"What's the news Will?" asked Henry.

"I got this message, not too long ago, from your cell phone Henry, can you explain?" said Will, handing Henry the phone.

"Uhh, no, it's not from me…in fact…I don't even know where mine is…" Henry patted down the usual places he stored his phone. He found a quarter and a tissue; useful for MacGyver, not useful in this particular situation.

Will smirked.

"I didn't think so," he looked at Magnus.

"You think Nikola did this?" asked Helen, her eyebrow quirking almost in disbelief.

"He's not completely gone yet, Magnus, I know Henry had his phone when we left EscCor, so I doubt it's a trap to lure us into an ambush, our best bet is that Nikola stole the phone before leaving to find the location of EscCor's secret base, putting his talents and bloodthirst into practical use!" Will smiled proudly at his deductive reasoning.

"Nikola hasn't been back since he escaped last night, I would know!" Helen said shaking her head.

"Helen, you know Tesla is smart enough to go unnoticed, especially if he didn't want to be! I tell you he has a plan, and the reason he sent us this text message is because he needs us!" cried Will ecstatically.

"You don't know that Will! He might be so far gone that he is luring us to this location to kill us all! We have no idea what's going on in that mind of his!" Helen crossed her arms; her eyes brimmed with sadness. "As much as I'd like to believe that Nikola is on the other end asking for help, it's just not adding up."

"Well, we at least have to try!" said Will, glaring hard at Magnus.

She finally exhaled in defeat.

"You're right, we can't lose faith in Nikola just yet."

_**~~~~EscCor Underground Facility~~~~**_

Laura Mongrove stared in wild excitement at the troop of small homemade soldiers standing in formation.

The miracle of genetic engineering and advanced DNA splicing allowed the advanced military training and skill to be already ingrained into their little heads, it was like 'Army In A Can.'

The looked no more than 12 or 13, all of them male, they made inhuman clicking noises in the back of their throats, like an engine revving up, they were just waiting for the green light.

Laura examined every one of them with her highly observant eyes.

Each one was perfect, and in time would grow to full capacity and be even more vicious, cunning, and skilled. A perfect unnamed, unloved, unmissed soldier, born a soldier, designed a soldier. A soldier for her cause.

These were to be the peacemakers of society, a veritable pool of different genes, different DNA all accumulated, grown and harvested for the greater good.

EscCor had nearly cleaned out sperm banks from Europe to America in pursuit of this achievement.

Some would argue that making one and cloning it a hundred times would be easier, but with the high level of uncertainty with cloning Laura couldn't risk it, she needed each one to be perfect and flawless.

Jeffries and his team had created the perfect army; an army that with one fell swoop could dessimate every military branch in the world; an army that would never see the bloodshed of the battlefield.

She smiled proudly at her soldiers. This was only the first batch, but she was pleased with the results.

She turned from them and strode over to Jeffries.

"Well done, Jeffries, you've done very well," she clapped a hand on his shoulder. Finally things were going her way.

"Thank you m'am, but don't get to excited yet. We've lost contact with the guards, and we've also lost camera feeds, something tells me that our missing patron, Mister Dorian, may have been found by a certain Dr. Magnus," Jeffries gulped nervously, as in his nature.

"Why was I not notified sooner?" Laura growled fiercely.

"I don't know, I was just informed myself!" he panicked, his body tensing.

"Send out the troop, call it a test run, I want them to bring me any unauthorized personnel!" Laura spat angrily and Jeffries nodded sending out the command to the troop.

They silently stalked out, like a lion hunting for a lonely gazelle.

The only sound coming from them was the animalistic clicking sound they made.

Laura clenched a fist as she watched them.

She was not going to be brought down again, she had an appointment with the UN in 24 hours, and by heaven, she was going to keep it.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

"_Do the pigeons talk to you?..."_

Nikola stopped walking for a moment, pressing a hand to his forehead. He had been ignoring the pain to the best of his ability since he had left the Sanctuary, but sometimes it threatened to overpower him. No man was meant to have 2 litres of source blood pumped into his veins, you'd be better off dumping a pound of cocaine in there; a weaker man would roll over and die, but Nikola, being who he was, was not a weak man.

Nonetheless, the source blood was taking it's toll on him.

He shook his head and kept going, stumbling slightly, but determined anyway.

He couldn't stop thinking of her, ever since this whole thing started, ever since the source blood entered his veins he couldn't stop thinking of her, of everything they had gone through together, every memory of her kept flashing in his mind. It went from their early days at Oxford to their heated passion nearly days ago. It was torture to him. Like his brain was trying to torture his heart slowly.

Even now, he was still thinking of her, perhaps he never stopped thinking of her.

_**~~~~Puerto Rico 2002~~~~**_

_Ashley Magnus sat in the back of the taxi clutching her bag to her._

_She was not overly nervous, as a 16 year old, her childhood couldn't exactly be considered normal; she had been around the stuff of nightmares since she was old enough to walk. Her mother had taken her to the most dangerous regions of Mumbai when she was 12. As a birthday present when she turned 14 she had gotten her own gun. But this was the first time she was on her own, really, and it was her mother that needed saving._

_That was why she was riding a taxi in the middle of downtown Puerto Rico._

_The Sanctuary had gotten a tip off from a contact that her mother was being held here and she nearly ran out of the Sanctuary life a freed jailbird._

_The same contact gave her the address of someone, in Puerto Rico, that was an old friend of her mother, a Javor Dragoslav. _

_The name brought up no results in the database, in fact there were no legal records of a Javor Dragoslav in any database, so this 'friend' of her mothers was almost to sketchy to risk it._

_But she had, and she was prepared for the worst._

_Henry, since he was 19 and had his driver's license, became her accomplice in the mission, and was keeping Big Guy out of the loop as best as he could._

_Whatever psycho had her mother, she didn't want to have to put the rest of the team in danger._

_The cab stopped in front of a nice hotel, beach side and she paid him while scooting out of the taxi, her bag, backpack, and gun in hand. She double-checked the address and then went inside the air-conditioned building._

_Ashley walked cautiously over to the main desk._

"_Hello miss, can I help you?" asked the manager with a smile._

"_Um, yes, I'm looking for someone, he's supposed to be staying here, a Javor Dragoslav," she showed him the scrap of paper she had written the name on._

_He looked at it._

"_Yes, Mr. Dragoslav is here, may I ask who you are?" said the manager._

"_I'm a daughter of an old friend of his," she said and he nodded walking out from behind the desk and waving her to follow him to the outdoor, beach front bar._

_He stopped her and she examined all the men, and women, luxuriating in the shade of the bar's canopy. There was a group of heft businessmen sitting, drinking scotch and martinis, a very tanned woman clad in a very small bikini sipping a cocktail and flirting with the bartender, a couple on their honeymoon making moon eyes at each other, and a lone man, in the back, his face hidden by the days newspaper, a glass of red wine on the table in front of him._

_The manager walked straight over to him and whispered into his ear._

_The manager came back to her._

"_Come this way, he says he's been expecting you," Ashley looked at the man suspiciously but followed anyway._

"_Madame meet Javor Dragoslav," said the manager politely before taking his leave._

_The stranger put down the newspaper and looked at her with very inquisitive blue-grey eyes. She looked back at him with just as much scrutiny._

"_You look just like her, you know," he said finally, retrieving his wine glass and sipping it._

"_And who's that?" she said, still gazing at him._

"_Your mother, Dr. Helen Magnus, of course, I couldn't mistake it," he gave her a cheeky grin._

"_For a guy named Javor you don't have much of an accent," Ashley observed him, he was peculiar, unlike the bikini and speedo clad Hawaiian shirt wearing tourists sitting on the same beach as him he was dressed in a crisp white cotton shirt and dark dress pants with a black vest unbuttoned. His hair was a dark brown with a cowlick at the front. And for someone vacationing in such a beautiful location his face was cleanly shaven, she could smell the aftershave; he looked like he had just gotten back from a huge business meeting and hadn't cared to change into his beachwear._

"_Well when you travel enough, my dear, you tend to lose your accent," he said with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes._

"_You know my mother then?" she said changing the subject._

"_Yes, we are very old friends," he said calling over the waitress._

"_You can't be more than your late 30's," Ashley scoffed._

"_Yes, well, like your mother, I'm not as young as I look, chalk it up to health and a good moisturizer," he smiles at the waitress. "Another wine for me Isabella, and a sangria for the girl?" he looked at her with a big cheeky grin, and Ashley felt the incessant urge to slap him._

"_Just water, please," said Ashley, glaring at the man._

_The waitress nodded and walked away._

"_Conservative, so very Helen, I like it," he leered at her and she crossed her arms at him._

"_You said you know where my mother is?" she asked, growing impatient with him._

"_Yes, she has found herself in the hands of local drug overlord Richter Von Hagen, and if you're thinking he sounds like a pasty white fat man, you couldn't be more right, he's just as fat as he is ugly and he's responsible for a certain drug cartel in these parts, selling exclusively to abnormals. Why? Who knows, he's kinky that way," Javor slides a picture across the table to her._

_He was indeed in need of a diet._

"_What does he want with her?" she asked._

"_He wants her, that's the problem, aside from being an unsightly overweight and unattractive man, he is also delusional, he wants gold, power, and beautiful women, my sources tell me that she is being brainwashed into being his little belly dancer," the waitress comes over with their drinks and sets them on the table._

"_So you're saying Fat Albert is trying to turn my mom into his own personal stripper," Ashley asks incredulously._

"_Yes, believe it or not, you can't deny his good taste," Javor smirked again._

"_Why would he do that?" she glares at him._

"_For power, for control over the Sanctuary Network, I don't know, maybe he just wants a really good lap dance, all I know is that he's not going to get it from Helen, not if I can help it," Javor took a swig of his wine._

"_And why do you care so much? I don't even know if my mom actually knows you, let alone trusts you, what is your proof?" she glared at him coldly and he let out a sigh._

"_I thought you were going to ask me that eventually," he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a worn old picture and showed it to her._

_She looked at the photo intently._

"_Where is this?" she lifted it up to look at it more closely._

"_London, 1938, I was riding out the depression for a few months, I was in quite a lot of debt at the time, she and I were very good friends back then, this was before World War II, we'd actually known each other a long time, shared lots together, we had that taken at a small fair just out of town, the night before I went back to America," he smiled fondly at the memory._

"_Was that the last time you saw her?" asked Ashley, they seemed so happy in the photo, she could just imagine her mother's laugh._

"_No, I saw her a few years later, we had a bitter reunion, I had done something she wasn't quite happy with, we haven't spoken since, regrettably," he looked down sadly._

"_A-are you-"_

"_No, I'm not," he interrupted her, as if her had read her mind. "Just a friend is all I am, nothing more."_

_She sighed and handed the photo back to him._

"_You care for her though, don't you?" she looked directly into his eyes._

"_Yes, very much," he had sincerity in his eyes and in that moment Ashley decided to trust him._

"_What's your plan?" she looked at him and he smiled his irritating smile again._

"_I'll tell you, but first you must promise me one thing," he leaned closer to her, his elbows resting on the table._

"_What?" she leaned in as well._

"_You mustn't tell Helen I was ever apart of it…"_

_**~~~~Present~~~~**_

Nikola made his way silently through the underground facility, his mind racing and his ears pounding with the sound of wings.

_Fludda-tut-tut-ta_

_Fludda-tut-tut-ta_

_Fludda-tut-tut-ta_

He muttered as he went along, one word, almost incomprehensible, even to himself.

"Pigeons…pigeons…"


	22. Chapter 22 The Blood Giveth

Chapter 22 – The Blood Giveth

_**~~~~Somewhere in Paris~~~~**_

Helen sat in the passenger seat in the van, her team with her, all being silent.

They were either heading straight into an ambush, or straight to Nikola, and either one could have disastrous effects.

Helen bit her lip nervously; she kept wondering if things would've been different if she hadn't visited him that night, or have taken him to Rome. Maybe if she had ignored his advances like before, if she hadn't heard his drunken confession, hadn't fallen in love with him, maybe he wouldn't be fighting for his sanity.

There was so many times over the course of the time they had known each other that she could've done something different, so many opportunities she missed to let him into her heart, he had waited so patiently, despite his arrogance, he waited, and waited, ready for when ever she needed him, and now he needed her, and she was unprepared.

She clutched her gun in her hand, awaiting anything that could happen, she never really feared anything, she had a whole life full of dangers, but she was never afraid to face any of them, until now.

It was the same crushing feeling of dread she had when Ashley was in the hands of the Cabal. Except this time it was Nikola whose head was on the chopping block, and her heart could only take so much loss.

What she feared most was that it would be her, not her enemy, not a teammate, not even Nikola himself, but her, who would have to pull the trigger.

"We're here," grunted Big Guy, parking the van a fair distance away.

Helen looked over at the abandoned warehouse.

"We're ready when you are Doc," said Henry, Helen nodded but kept looking at the foreboding building. She really didn't want to go in there. She was scared of what she'd find.

"Are we sure he's in there?" asked Kate.

"It's either that or something worse," said Will.

"Great," Kate rolled her eyes and pulled open the van door and stepped out.

The other two followed her leaving Big Guy and Helen in the car.

"You don't have to come, Helen," he said grunted softly.

"I do, actually, if Nikola's in there…he needs me," she looked at him with gratitude. "I want you to stay with the van, keep it running, in case we need to make a quick getaway."

He nodded and she stepped out of the van, cocking her gun and wordlessly making her way across the street.

_**~~~~EscCor Underground Facility~~~~**_

Nikola made his way through the maze of the facility, knocking out guards and security cameras as he went, not to keep himself from being seen, but for anyone who might follow him.

He reached the control center, computers, technicians, and three massive power generators, just what he expected.

The technicians were floored, duct taped, and locked away in seconds. Leaving the whole power system of the facility in his clawed hands.

He made quick work of the controls, using his regained electric powers to fry circuits, and his claws to rip wires. The lights in the whole facility flickered with increasing fluctuations as he readily destabilized the system. This served a double purpose in his plan, not only would the power fluctuations cease any production of Mongrove's vampire army, but the siphoned power would be used to overthrow this scheme right on to its heels.

He pulled from his vest pocket the 'De-Vamper,' that cruel little device that had taken his vampirism away in the first place.

For the first time he was glad that Helen didn't have it destroyed, of course he had it modified to work in his favor.

He hooked it into the unstable system, the power fluctuations ceasing almost instantaneously.

He bowed to an invisible crowd applauding his brilliance before running out.

Instead of being greeted by the dark corridor of the facility, he was met by a troop of boys, or should he say vampire boys. He could hear the abnormal clicking in the back of their throats, and he recognized the blood-black hue of their eyes.

"Is this my welcoming party?" he grinned at them before hissing, baring his teeth and fangs at them.

They responded, in kind, and strategically moved to ambush him.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Helen and her team moved through the tunnel, the door was surprisingly easy to open, and the constantly flickering power made it clear as to why.

"Something tells me that's not supposed to happen," Helen smirked.

"Nikola…" she moved a bit more briskly.

Henry saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"That son of a bitch!" he exclaimed, lifting his iPhone out of the dirt. "You don't just toss away a piece of valuable technology, especially if it's not yours!"

Kate sighed.

"He probably didn't want anyone to track him, it's not like it's destroyed Hank," Helen kept moving.

"It's the principle behind it Kate, what would he think if I took his de-vamper and used it as a rolling pin."

Helen sparked an idea at Henry's words.

"Of course…that's his plan all along…can you think of the most effective way to wipe out a vampire army, without killing anyone," she turned the team to face them.

"Yah but he'd have to like de-vamp probably over a hundred of them things, and he's only got one device," said Will.

"Well, he is a genius, he has something up his sleeves, hidden agenda and all," Helen smirked at Will.

He smirked back.

"I keep telling you," Will chuckled lightly.

"I'm betting he asked us down here to play into his plans," Helen's lit up.

"Like, as in a trick? Like in Columbia?" asked Henry.

Helen shook her head.

"No, but he needs our help, that man is brilliant!" Helen smiled widely as she picked up the pace down the tunnel.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Mongrove looked over to Jeffries.

"Why has production stopped?" she barked.

"I don't know, it says there is not enough power to meet requirements, something must be wrong with the generators," panicked Jeffries.

"We have three! Alternating through the system so if one shuts off another takes its place so we have power at all times!" Laura growled even sharper.

"I never said it was a natural problem…" said Jeffries mousily.

"What do you mean?" Laura eyed him sharply.

"Uhh, sabotage, Miss…" he gulped slightly audibly.

She hissed.

"Fix it!"

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Helen had her eyes sharp and her gun poised as she walked through the corridors of EscCor's hidden facility.

They hadn't come across any security, hidden alarms, or vampire soldiers, which Helen considered suspicious and kept herself extra alert.

Each member of her team felt the same, their guns similarly poised.

Helen also found the constant flickering lights and slight electrical discharges to be disconcerting.

She suddenly heard a troop of footstep coming down a separate hallway adjacent to the main corridor. She looked over at Will who pointed to a simple supply closet to his left; it was unlocked and they quickly squeezed inside it.

Helen left a crack open and peered out of it cautiously.

She just caught a glimpse of a small squad of soldiers march in unison through the corridor.

"They're children, 10 maybe 12, these must be the test tube babies I saw earlier…it's criminal, using children to win a war," Helen sneered, she disliked the Mongrove woman more and more by every passing second.

They marched out of sight.

"Magnus, we're not alone!" said Kate.

Helen turned around and saw Kate leaning next to a unconscious guard. He was bound and gagged and Helen couldn't help from smirking.

"It's Nikola," she said leaning down on the other side.

"Are you sure Tesla did this?" asked Will.

"Who else, Will? He's still in control otherwise it would be a bloodbath out there, he wouldn't bother keeping them alive if he was a savage monster," she looked at Will with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Good point, but are we even sure this is his handiwork?" Will knelt next down beside her.

"There must be some indicator," Helen searched through the guards pockets, looking for any markers or evidence that her Nikola was this man's attacker.

She felt something in the guard's right breast pocket and she pulled it out and a smile adorned her face.

"Here Dr. Zimmerman is your indicator," she handed him the folded slip of old parchment paper.

"It's blank," said Will.

"He wouldn't have to, he knows that I would recognize the paper, this was the exact same parchment he wrote his message to me in Rome, and the letter he wrote to me all those months ago. Besides, what kind of guard carries parchment paper around in his breast pocket," she took it back from him and stuck it in her own pocket. "It's Nikola's, I'm sure of it."

Will nodded, still a little unsure, but Helen had made up her mind.

"They're gone," said Henry.

"Ok, I have a feeling if we follow those child soldiers it will lead us to Nikola," Helen carefully stepped out of the closet.

"Of course you do," sighed Will, getting up and following their six.

Magnus carefully walked down the direction the child soldiers had taken, nary a sound coming from her.

She came to a set of double doors and she peered inside, looked like something from the matrix in there, with pod of half-grown babies and naked, she could only assume, newborn soldiers being tended to by a group of scientists in pristine white coats.

She felt something tug on her sleeve.

"Hey Doc," said Henry.

"Yes, Henry," she didn't take her eyes off the scene before her.

"You may want to turn around for this," said Henry, and she heard an all too familiar unnatural clicking sound.

"Dammit," she muttered.

"We have company, Doc, and they look hungry," said Kate.

The small soldiers superspeed and grab her and her team before they can even fire a round into them.

"Thank you Nikola," muttered Helen as she, Kate, Henry, and Will through the double doors.

"Ah, Doctor Magnus, thank you for joining us, I'd hoped you would," said Laura Mongrove, her smile wicked.

"Where's Nikola?" spat Helen.

"He's around, he caused some significant damage, which is slowing production, but nothing we can't handle, right Jeffries."

He nods wordlessly.

"He'll stop you before you can complete any more of this hideous plan," snarled Helen.

"You don't understand, Helen, we've already stopped him," Laura snaps her fingers and two of the soldiers drag in Nikola and drop him on the floor at their feet.

He lets out an audible groan and rolls over, his eyes immediately falling on Helen.

"Helen…what are you doing down in New Orleans during the hurricane, the humidity will make your hair frizz," he laughs stupidly, obviously drugged.

Helen sighed at him.

"What have they done to you?" she yanks her hands out of the soldiers grip and kneels down beside Nikola.

His face was beaten and his lip was split, and whatever he was drugged with was preventing him from healing quickly.

"Stole my work! Where's that two-faced bastard Edison! I'll show him!" his arms swings aimlessly as he tries to sit up. "Let me at him! Him and Marconi! I'll take them both!"

Helen rolls her eyes.

"What did you give him?" growled Helen.

"Just a small little cocktail to keep him controllable," Laura smiled.

Helen cupped his face and he winked at her just noticeably.

"You're plan won't work!" she looked at Laura, dropping her hands from Nikola, who was still drugged out on the floor.

"I think I've proven it will," said Laura.

"No, you've proven you're insane! And that is why it precisely won't work! You are mad! And the whole world will agree and hunt you down!" Helen shouted angrily.

"You're wrong! I have found the answer to peace!"

"Oh spare me the melodrama," Helen sneered at her.

"I so wished you and your little minions to be witness to my triumph, but you've proven to be far too much trouble than you're worth! Once my team gets things up and running again I will have my army and I will succeed, and you will be dead," Laura laughs.

"That's where you're wrong," Laura stopped laughing and looked wide-eyed in the direction of the voice.

Nikola had gotten to his feet, completely healed and sober, the blood-black of his eyes glaring at her.

"How did you-" Laura gasped confusedly.

"You have much still to learn about vampires," he lifted up a small device in his hand, similar to a remote detonator. "Lesson one: The blood giveth, and the de-vamper taketh away!"

He pressed the button and a massive pulse burst through the facility, trapping anyone with the vampiric traits, sending them writhing to the floor, including Nikola.

It was like that night when he had originally lost his powers.

Helen watched the scene in a slight fear, her breath getting caught in her throat as all the soldiers fell to their knees, crying out in pain, Laura screaming bloody murder.

Kate being released from her hold took charge and jabbed her gun into Mongrove's back.

"Show's over lady, on your knees," Laura sobbed and did so, her anger mixing with defeat.

The soldiers took a gasp of life, de-vamped completely.

"Call Jacques, the guest list at the sanctuary just got bigger," said Will to Henry.

Helen went over to Nikola, cradling his head in her lap.

"Nikola…" she said softly, almost cooing.

"Mmmm," he mumbled, his eyes opening lazily to meet hers.

She smiled down at him.

"You are brilliant, Mr. Tesla," she teased and a small, crooked smile graced his lips.

"Don't mention it, nothing like a good de-vamping to rejuvenate the soul," he slowly sat up.

"It was what you wanted, your vampirism back, and you gave it up, how unselfish of you," she played with his cowlick slightly, her other hand reaching around his neck and tangling in the hairs at the back of his head.

"Well, they always say, be careful what you wish for, I guess it really was you I wanted more," he smirked his cheeky grin.

"Shut up and kiss me," she sighed and kiss him strongly, uncaring about who was watching.

The kiss was broken by a loud alarm sounding throughout the facility.

"Ohh…why does that not sound good?" winced Henry.

"Because it's not!" cried Jeffries, his team making a dash for it through the doors.

Kate caught Jeffries before he made it out.

"What is it, dirtface?" she growled.

"Automated self-destruct! I suggest you get out as well!" he squeaked in panic and ran out.

"Alright everybody move!" cried Kate.

"Henry, help Kate get these children out! Will make sure she is the last one to leave," Helen glared at Mongrove and Will nodded, keeping his gun fixed on her. "Can you stand?"

Nikola nodded.

"I should be able to," he gave her his hand and stumbled to his feet slightly.

The children ran out in an orderly fashion, Kate leading them through the tunnel and out of the warehouse.

Helen quickly fired a round into all of the databases.

This was the last time she was ever going to hear the words source blood and vampire army ever again.

She nodded to Will who forced Mongrove to her feet and pushed her towards the door.

SELF DESTRUCT IN 1 MINUTE.

"Let's move! Come on Nikola!" she took his hand and made him run a little faster up through the tunnel.

Helen and Will kept running, hoping to out run the blast.

They reached the topside part of the warehouse before they noticed neither Mongrove nor Nikola was behind them.

Helen look down the tunnel and saw Nikola being held at gunpoint.

"Nikola!" she shouted.

"Just go Helen!" he shouted back.

Helen pulled Will and ran for the other side of the street where Bigfoot was waiting with the van.

Nikola stared at Mongrove with his piercingly icy grey-blue stare.

"I am not leaving! This was my life's achievement! And you ruined it! Now, I'm taking you with me!" she spat crazily.

"It's over Laura! Just accept it!" he said calmly.

"It's all over Tesla! My whole life is over! All I wanted was peace! Victory at any cost!" she cried, the tears streaming down her face. "Why couldn't you see that!"

"Because peace at the end of a fang, is still war," he said calmly.

She dropped the gun.

"Then we will die, right here…" she looked at him, defeat heavy in her eyes.

"_Do the pigeons talk to you?"_

"What?" Nikola asked.

"What?" Mongrove stared back at him.

"I thought you said something…" looked at her curiously.

She shook her head.

"_Do the pigeons talk to you?"_

"_Only if I let them."_

"_And do you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_That must make you extraordinary Mr. Tesla."_

"Everybody get down!" shouted Helen as she and Will dove into the grass as the Warehouse building suddenly splintered into a large ball of flame and flying timbers.

BOOOM!


	23. Chapter 23 Never Time

Chapter 23 – Never Time

Helen lifted her head from under her hands, feeling a flaming piece of debris fly over top of her.

She stood up quickly looking at the charred and exploded remain of the warehouse and the facility beneath it.

Her eyes stung with the heat, and a flash of fear caused her heart to beat rapidly in her chest.

She started running towards the ground zero, her breath threatening to get lost in her throat as she ran.

"Magnus!" yelled Will.

"Stay here! Wait for Jacques!" she commanded not stopping.

"We got the rest of them loaded in the van, they came pretty quietly," said Kate, coming up behind Will.

"That's good, we need to get this kids in one place, make sure they're ok…" said Will quietly, his eyes still watching Magnus run.

Helen ran, hoping against hope that Nikola's parlour trick had succeeded once again; it saved him in Columbia.

"Nikola!" she shouted, hoping for some kind if response.

She heard a gasp and her heart caught in her throat.

She saw a hand among the debris, reaching out for something.

She grabbed ahold of the hand.

"Nikola! It's ok, I've got you, I'm going to get you out!"

She kissed the knuckles of the hand lightly before pulling away the debris and dirt on top of it.

She heard him gasp again and his head peeked out with a ragged cough, she cupped his head.

"Nikola! I think your magnetism is my new favorite power," she smiled.

"Yes well, it has served me better," he winced.

"Can you crawl out," she ruffled some of his hair.

"Not really, no…" he winced again.

She moved more debris off him and hooked her arms around his and pulled him out. He let out a strangled and painful cry.

Helen gasped at the sight and knelt down beside him.

"Oh Nikola," she pulled him into her arms, his head resting over her heart and her arms wrapped under his armpits.

His upper torso was intact but the explosion had removed his legs from the knee down.

He ground his teeth, to keep in his pain.

"Parlor tricks…only really work once, at least the good ones," he laughed, his voice strained.

"It's fixable Nikola, a little painkiller and some physio you'll be back to your jolly old self in no time," her voice betrayed her words.

"I don't think it's as simple as that," he leaned into her more, his bark arching in pain.

"Don't say that," Helen bit her lip and kissed the top of his head.

"Helen, I love you," he put his hand over hers. "I should've said it more often…time seems to slip away when you're having fun."

Helen laid her head on the top if his and bit back her tears.

"Yes, doesn't it," she choked out.

"Do you remember what James always used to say about me?" he winced slightly.

"He's an arrogant ass and no company in their right mind would hire him," she joked.

"No, besides that one," he chuckled weakly. "Back in the old days."

Helen smiled in the fond memories, remembering exactly what Nikola was talking about.

"My, my, dear Nikola, on the backs of pigeons you'll fly away…" she said, her cheek nuzzling the side of his head, holding to him tightly as if he would fall if she let go.

He smiled slightly.

"Yes, that's the one," he looked away sadly. "They're coming for me now, Helen, they're coming and I don't have enough time."

Helen felt a tear escape.

"Don't be ridiculous, Nikola," she kept her cheek on his head.

"I've never been so lucid in my life, Helen, my life has never been fair, I've always lost more than I gained, but I did gain your love, if only for a little while, and we really did have some of the most marvelous adventures," she felt him weaken slightly in her arms.

"We did, my, we did…but you're wrong Nikola, you didn't gain my love, you've always had it, I love you, more than that lunatic," she chuckled weakly.

They sat for a moment in a comfortable silence, a heavy sun falling around them, Helen cradling him in her arms, rocking him gently while his blue-grey eyes stared off into some form of space, neither here nor there, but his hand never leaving hers.

"Pigeons…pigeons…pigeons…" he muttered almost as softly as the wind.

And just as gracefully as he had entered her life, he was gracefully taken out of it.

Helen didn't let go, or shift to check if he was gone, she just knew, and she cried silent tears for her old friend, for her lover.

She didn't hear Will come up behind her and stand, petrified by his own heartbreak for her.

In fact, she didn't hear any of the team, she just held on to the slowly cooling hand in her own and cried, and they let her.

_**~~~~Puerto Rico 2002 ~~~~**_

_Ashley shot cover fire at Richter Van Hagen's goons while Javor Dragoslav, her Serbian assistance snuck behind them into the room they were guarding._

_It was full of scantily clad women, sitting among satin curtains and flower petal, lounging their feet into the small pool in the centre of the room._

_One of them came up to him and touched his shoulder gracefully._

"_Are you here for business or pleasure?" she drawled into his ear, her tongue just gently touching the lobe._

_He instinctively pulled away from her and brought a handkerchief to his ear and wiped._

"_Neither as far as your concerned," he scanned the beautiful young faces._

"_Then what can I do you for?" she said just as heavy as before._

"_I'm looking for a specific girl, she's who I want, and only she, and you, my pretty friend, are going to help me find her," he said pointedly._

"_Your wish is my command," she said, her eyes leering at him._

"_I bet you say that to all the men," he gave her a sardonic smile and he flipped out a picture of Helen Magnus, a picture he had leant from Ashley, his own still tucked securely in his breast pocket. "This is the woman, have you seen her?"_

"_The masters new girl, we've been prepping her for him, she is…unavailable for our customers," the woman let out a heavy chuckle._

"_I, dear lady, am not a customer," he took out a gun, also on lend from the wonder-Magnus._

_He let his eyes change into their terrifying blood-black, but in a blink it was gone, and the woman's prowess vanishing with it._

"_He won't let you take her, he plans on making her his wife, she is much more tightly secured than we are," the woman had a hint of panic in her voice._

"_Take me to her, and I promise no harm will come to any of you," he said sincerely._

_Her eyes widen._

"_You mean to free us?" she said, a hint of hope leaking into her voice._

"_If I have to yes," he said flatly, keeping his eyes fixed on hers. "But this woman is my friend, I have to rescue her first."_

_The woman nodded._

"_They won't let you come in like that," she said handing him a robe and face veil._

_He sighed, of course he couldn't, that would be too easy…_

_He threw on the robe and covered the bottom part of his face so only his eyes peeked out and the woman sprayed some fruity scented stuff at him._

"_Hold still!" she barked and his eyes were forced shut as she smeared thick eye make-up across his eyelids. "There! You make pretty girl."_

_Javor cringed, it was sad because he did; he was certainly skinny enough to pull it off, which didn't really make him feel better._

"_Now take me to her," she waved him in the direction down a corridor, to a door that was guarded by two buff, tanned, and armed men._

"_We're here to prepare girl, master wants her ready for tonight," said the woman, her prowess returning._

"_Whose this fine flower?" said one of the guys, looking at Javor, his hand reaching out to caress his cheek, and he muffled a growl._

"_She's new, not to be touched until the master approves!" said the woman._

"_I won't tell if you don't," the guy said, smiling deviously, showing off a fine set of gold teeth._

_Javor was repulsed._

"_I have an obligation to these girls, you do not touch until Master approves, now let us in," said the woman, her voice growing louder._

"_What would I get in return? Give me 5 minutes with her, it won't matter one way or the other…ooh she has nice hips," the guy grinned and Javor tried not to flinch or roll his eyes._

_Damn his skinny ass hips…_

_Javor made a giggle sound, so not to be suspicious._

"_It will matter! If Master finds out then you are executed and I am beaten!" she pulls him away from Javor. "She is off limits!"_

_The guard turns fast and hits the woman hard across the face and Javor springs forward and grabs him with a clawed hand, pulling him off his feet._

"_Now that's no way to treat a lady, your mother would be so disappointed!" he growled in his deep unnatural voice._

_He dug his claws into the man's side letting him crumple to the floor, and he quickly broke the neck of the second guard._

_Javor pulled of the veil and use it to wipe off the make-up in his face._

_He went over to the woman who was cowering on the floor._

"_Are you alright?" he asked kindly._

_She nods._

"_Ok, go back with the other ladies, keep them safe, you'll be free from this place soon," he helped her to her feet and pushed her in the direction they had come before he dragged the officers out of sight and slipped inside the room._

_The room was covered, ceiling to floor with pieces of white and pink fabric, candles, and flower petals, a grandiose bridal suite if he'd ever saw one. _

_He walked deftly over to the massive canopy bed in the middle of the room._

_Incense burned in almost every corner of the room, filling it with an almost intoxicating sickly sweet aroma of lavender and vanilla._

_His hands reached for the thin curtains of the canopy bed, hesitating slightly, unsure of what was lying behind them._

_He pulled them back gently, his gaze falling on her peaceful form, like Sleeping Beauty._

"_Helen," he said softly._

_He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, caressing her chin gently._

_She lazily opened her eyes a crack and looked at him with a content, if slightly drugged, sigh._

"_Nikola…" she murmured happily her hands sliding over his face._

_He instinctively leaned into her embrace._

"_I'm here Helen, I'm going to take you home now," he took her hand and kissed the top of it lightly._

"_I…missed you…sooo nice to see you again," she slurred._

"_And I missed you, we can catch up later, but first I have to get you out of here," he said, attempting to pull her off the bed._

"_What's the rush?" she tugged him down on top of her, giggling in her heavy, drugged state._

"_Helen, I'm flattered, but now is not the time, and I doubt you will think kindly on it when we get these drugs out of your system, so lets get you home, Ashley is waiting…"_

_She grabbed the sides of his vest and pulled him towards her, trapping him in a hard kiss._

_He squeaked slightly in surprise at her forwardness, especially when he felt her hands trail down his chest and undo the buttons of his vest and shirt._

_Nikola jerked away from the kiss._

"_Helen! As much as I'd like to, this is neither the time nor the place, nor the state of mind I want you in, please, let me take you home," he pleaded with her._

_She grinded against him even more, and it didn't help that she was in very little clothing. _

_His temporary distraction had allowed her to flip him over and pin him down helplessly under her._

"_No, Helen, I really think that you should listen to me now…don't make me do this by force."_

_Her hands slid up his chest sensually._

"_Mmm, force…" she drawled, leaning down and kissing him again. His senses were in overdrive. Part of him wanted to give in, let her manipulate him into a corner, let her have her way with him, but the other part, the logical part of him knew that at any moment Van Hagen's men would be in here, ready to remove him permanently._

_He wasn't afraid of them, he was just afraid Helen, or her young daughter would get caught in the crossfire._

_Helen's hand slipped just under his pants line and Nikola spun them around, trying to gain back control, she just giggled and reached further._

_Nikola acted fast and pinned her hands above her head, his breathing heavy as he focused on controlling both her and himself._

"_Helen! Snap out of it! You need to snap out of it so that I can get you, and Ashley out of here safely, this is not a game!" he barked._

_She just laughed, the drugs coursing through her system preventing her from fully comprehending anything other than how horny she felt._

_Nikola winced at the thought, but knew it was the only way to get her out of here without having to worry about another incident like this happening again._

"_Forgive me Helen," he pulled out the gun from his belt and cracked her over the head with it, effectively knocking her out cold._

_He removed his white oxford shirt and slipped it on her over the skimpy bikini number she was dressed in, to protect her modesty. He then scooped her up into his arms and quickly made his way out of the room, looking for Ashley._

_He made it into the front foyer but was greeted with Van Hagen and his gang of douche-bag henchmen, and a slightly beaten, but otherwise alive Ashley, her hands zip-tied behind her._

"_Very well done, my good man, you proved very cunning, but this is where it stops, give me the woman, she is mine!" spat Van Hagen, his dutch accent as thick as his cigar smoke._

"_I doubt she'd agree with that," snarled Nikola._

"_Her opinion doesn't matter," scoffed Van Hagen, "She is a woman, to be seen and enjoyed."_

_Nikola growled audibly._

"_Sexism went out with the dark ages, my friend, oh forgive me, I forgot you're dutch," Nikola retorted bitterly._

_Van Hagen sneered._

"_Insult my people all you want, you are not making it out of here alive," Van Hagen lifted his hand and his men poised their weapons at him._

"_Are you so sure about that?" chuckled Nikola, he looked down at Helen, unconscious in his arms. "Fine, you win, I propose a trade off, the woman for the girl."_

_Van Hagen eyed Ashley._

"_Why should I give you the girl?" he laughed._

"_Because she's a child, and it's the only way I'll leave peacefully," Nikola said sternly._

"_Fine, release her," said Van Hagen and one of the men came up behind Ashley, undoubtedly groped her and cut the zip tie restraining her arms._

_She got up and ran over to Nikola, hiding behind him as he lowered Helen to the floor and stepped back, his hands in the air._

_Van Hagen nodded to his men to retrieve her._

"_When I say now, take your mother and go as fast as you can, get back to the hotel, call the police, then call your friends at the Sanctuary…ok?" Nikola whispered to Ashley._

"_What about you?" she asked,_

"_I'll be fine, just get your mother and yourself as far away as you can," he said, his eyes not leaving Helen._

_The men walked up to Helen, bending over to reach her arms._

"_NOW!" shouted Nikola, and he lunged forward knocking the men off their feet and tossing one into the other men so that Ashley could get away cleanly._

"_After them!" cried Van Hagen,_

"_You'll have to get through me first!" Nikola growled, revealing his blood-black eyes._

_Ashley pulled her mom out of the villa and got her to her feet, she heard several gunshots resounding inside and some screams, but she chose to ignore them, getting her mother as far away as she could._

_Helen Magnus woke up her head throbbing, and she couldn't remember where she was._

"_Mom!" said Ashley, coming to her bedside._

"_Ashley? Where are we?" she asked, putting a hand on her head to steady herself._

"_You got napped by some rich dude to become his concubine, it's ok, we're safe now," said Ashley putting a hand on her mother's arm._

"_Where's Big Guy?" Helen asked, looking around._

"_Well…" Ashley averted her gaze._

"_You came here alone?" shouted Helen._

"_I had some help, an old friend of yours apparently, he's gone now," said Ashley._

"_Who? What old friend of mine?" Helen grabbed her arm causing Ashley to look at her._

"_He asked me not to tell," Ashley said._

"_I don't give a damn what he asked you, tell me who helped you rescue me," ordered Magnus._

"_What does it matter? You're safe! We're safe! Jeez mom, take a pill," Ashley crossed her arms defensively. "You were about to become dutch boy's 7__th__ wife!...He said he only wanted you safe, he left us the room, and you're even wearing his shirt, if he was a baddie he would've shown signs by now."_

_Helen let out a small sigh._

"_You're right," Helen looked over at her daughter, "You at least called Big Guy right?"_

"_Of course, he's on his way, private charter and everything, this isn't my first rodeo," Ashley mumbled, getting up to make some tea. "You're welcome by the way!"_

_Helen laughed and shook her head, taking a breath of fresh air. She stood up and went to the window, admiring the sunset picturesque view. She heard something, like a crumpling sound, like someone had stepped on a piece of paper, but it was coming from the breast pocket of her shirt._

_She reached in and pulled out an old photograph, letting out a small laugh as she recognized its origin. She remembered that evening as if it had happened yesterday._

_Hand-in-hand at the old fairground, it was the last pleasant memory they shared together, the picture made it seem like they could've been young lovers, no wonder he had kept it._

_Her fingertip outlined his face on the picture._

"_Nikola…"_

_**~~~~Present ~~~~**_

Helen looked out of the large window in the library of her Italian Villa, wearing a worn white oxford shirt she had found in the back of her closet. It smelt of lavender and vanilla, and a hint of something else she couldn't quite place.

As soon as she put it on she remembered how it had ended up in the back of her closet, abandoned and forgotten.

This had happened approximately 3 days ago, the day after she had returned from Paris, heavy-hearted and down one team member. From the moment she found this shirt she searched through her collections, through her photo albums, through every storage space, memory box, and plastic bag she stuffed things in, searching for items, any items that reminded her of him.

She was amazed by what she had kept, and amazed even more so by what she hadn't.

Memories brought tears, but they were comforting.

But a chance rifle through her desk had sought her a letter, sent from France.

The paper was as familiar as a signature and she ripped open the letter as if it contained the oxygen she needed to breathe.

It was Nikola's last Will & Testament so to speak, he never actually wrote one, the one in 1943 had been faked leaving all his possessions in her charge, and since he was immortal at the time having a real will seemed rather pointless, he obviously had sought the need in Paris.

It wasn't so much a will as his last wishes.

This had led her to pack her bags and fly, urn in hand, back to Italy.

How ironic a choice to ask to be buried in Italy, not Serbia, not in the Sanctuary flower beds, but her villa in Italy, in the back by the pond.

She had the grave dug that morning but the rain prevented her from finally putting Nikola to rest.

She didn't mind, it gave her time to think. She cradled a mug of tea, snuggled into the oxford shirt, sat by the window and looked at all the small trinkets and photo's she had found. A lot of them she had put away long ago to forget, but now were the only things keeping him unforgotten.

A small necklace he had made for her back in Oxford, a turtle made out of melted glass, a photo of them at the fair, a letter he had written to her asking her if he'd left his socks over at her place, little things that had made her relationship with Nikola special.

Helen didn't realize when she had fallen asleep, or what time she had woken up, but the sound of the doorbell resounding through the house roused her from the window bench.

The sun shone through the house, so it was definitely morning.

She opened the door.

"Delivery for an H. Magnus," said the deliveryman in a heavy accent.

"Uhh, yes, that's me," she squinted at the sunlight.

"Sign here please," he said, handing her a clipboard.

"What is it?" she asked signing the sheet on the clipboard and handing it back.

He shrugged as another deliveryman carried a wooden box, she could only assume was heavier than it looked.

It was handed to her and she lugged it back into the house, she wondered who could've sent her such a heavy thing.

She placed it on the coffee table of the sitting room of her villa, curious to know what was inside the wooden box, and who sent it to her, but she passed on her curiosity to make herself some breakfast first.

Three cups of tea and a scone later she was back, staring at her mysterious package, unsure if she should open it.

Eventually her curiosity got the best of her and she pried open the top of the wooden box.

She gasped as she saw the contents contained with in, her hand let go of the lid and it landed with a thunk on the floor.

Inside the box, was a perfectly sculptured marble gravestone with Nikola's name engraved on the front, and an engraving of a pigeon standing gracefully.

It was like he knew…everything that had happened so far…it was like he knew…

Helen felt a new stream of warm tears fall down her cheeks.

It was so Nikola, always in control, even in death.

He knew where he wanted to be and who he wanted to be with, and where he was going to die, she wouldn't be surprised if his death was on his terms.

She looked over at the beautiful urn holding what was left of the mad scientist, they never did find his legs, perhaps they never will.

Helen went over to the urn and opened the top of it and took all the precious items he had left her and placed them inside except for the picture of them at the fair, the white shirt he had left it in, and the glass turtle he had made for her so many birthdays ago. The rest she left with him.

In the heat of the Italian afternoon she carried the urn to the back of the garden by the crystal pond, to the small grave that had been dug yesterday and put the urn inside and pushed the dirt overtop of it.

The gravestone was placed on top, right by the trunk of the tree and Helen kissed her fingers and placed the kiss on the top of the marble stone.

"Here you are Nikola, just like you asked, I'm not surprised you picked this spot, it looks just like our spot in that park in Oxford. The big willow tree, the pond…all we're missing is a few pigeons," she felt her voice get caught in her throat as everything hit her. "I'm sure you'll be happy now, in whatever afterlife you've created for yourself."

Helen felt a small wind caress her cheek and she nearly imagined it was the soft hand of her lover, comforting her in her time of sadness.

"There was never the right time for us, was there…" she looked down at her hands in her lap. "You waited a long time for me, now I guess it's my turn."

Helen got up and ran a hand through her messy hair, letting out a deep sigh.

"Goodbye Nikola," she smiled sadly before turning around and walking back through the garden.

"_Do the pigeons talk to you?"_

Helen stopped and heard the smallest of cooing sound coming from behind her, she froze just listening to the rustling of wings.

She turned around slowly, her heart not even daring to move like her feet.

There was a man, standing by the big willow tree by the small pond. The leaves of the willow were slowly cascading down to the ground around him.

The man stood silently.

In one hand was a small loaf of stale bread, which he crumbled up with his other hand and gently dropped to the ground for the small group of pigeons collected at his feet, he repeated the action, just muttering the slightest of encouragements to the birds.

Helen eyed him, watching his every move as her cared for the hungry birds, how gently he lowered his hand to them and let them take perch upon his finger.

She stepped closer, silently, a cat stalking.

She was just about two arms length to him, and she studied him and his gentiel nature with the utter fascination.

"Do the pigeons talk to you?" she asked suddenly, breaking his reverie.

His blue-grey eyes met hers and he wiped his hand on his trousers nervously.

"Only if I let them," he said, his own curiosity considering the beautiful woman who had spontaneously chosen to speak to him.

"And do you?" asked Helen again, a small giggle escaping her lips as she smiled at the man.

"Yes," he said flatly.

She let another giggle escape, but her eyes never left his.

"I'm sorry, I recognized you from earlier, I was curious as to what you were doing," she finally broke her gaze and looked down at the grey birds fluttering at their feet.

"Oh yes, you're the girl who has been auditing classes, I've seen you as well, sort of…" he still eyed her.

"My name is Helen…Magnus, and you're Nikola Tesla, I remember you from the lecture, you caused an awful ruckus," she smiled at him.

"Yes, well…" he turned back to the pigeons.

"So were you talking to pigeons?" she asked, a hint of amusement.

"I wasn't I was…voicing my thoughts out loud," he looked away trying to ignore her small giggle.

"You were talking to them, like they were friends, it was adorable," she smiled stepping closer to him.

"Well, people talk to pets all the time, cats, dogs, birds…"

"Pigeons? Do you consider them your pets?" she looked up at him.

"Of course not, they're stray birds in the park!" he defended.

"So you consider them friends?" Nikola opened his mouth to speak but he was at a loss for words, her smile had taken them from him.

"Do you?" she said after a moment.

"Not as much as I do you," he looked at her, his fingers combing lightly through her dark curls.

"I miss you," Helen said, sadness coloring her voice.

"Can we stay like this…forever?" he lifted up the hand holding the loaf of bread and she wordlessly ripped a small piece from it and threw it to the hungry flock.

"I would like that very much," she smiled at him again and he smiled back.

He wordless touched her lips with his in a tender kiss, his hands cupping her face. Helen closed her eyes, letting the single tear fall down her face and into oblivion, they could've been kissing for an eternity she couldn't tell, but neither wanted to pull away from each other, and neither felt the need for air.

His hand left her face and took her hand, breaking the kiss.

He turned to face the flock of pigeons and smiled, offering the loaf once more, which she accepted with a smile.

And without a word, hand-in-hand, they fed the pigeons…together.

_My, my, dear Nikola, on the backs of pigeons you'll fly away…_

_**~~~~End~~~~**_

Finally it's the end, thank you to all who eagerly read each chapter of this long and arduous story. I hope the ending wasn't too corny.

I'm sorry if you wanted Nikola to survive, I wanted him to live to, but it wasn't the story I wanted to tell, so forgive me.

The story was really about Nikola's last days on earth, the flashbacks were his life flashing before his eyes so to speak, all the moments he had with Helen, and what he should've done, but their love could outstand anything, even death.

Interpret the ending how you will, but really it was like them replaying their first meeting, do the lines seem familiar?

He called it their perfect memory, so it suits that he would want to live out his afterlife in the only perfect moment his life ever had.

Again thank you for reading OTBOP, if you enjoyed it you'll also enjoy The Troublemakers, and I plan to write out the whole story of Puerto Rico 2002, as seen in this fic, cause it's a fun idea and I like it.

Read and Review :)


End file.
